#and I don't think lan xichen would even offer

[oneeyedoctogod]

Gods this fandom sometimes, I swear. I'm sorry I read two deeply bad takes back to back, and I have to rant. I'm sure others have said it better than I, but really. Come on. I actually have to wonder if people who talk about the extras actually read them because...

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji didn't leave the cultivation world in canon. They elope, and then they come back. The fact they're not involved in the bigger politics is... pretty much to be expected, but they very much do participate in the day to day lives of the Lan sect. They go where the chaos is to night hunt, they teach, Lan Wangji comforts his brother in his seclusion, and Wei Wuxian meets some new Lan disciples.

As for the cottage fantasy... Again, I honestly have to wonder if the people talking about it actually read the extra it's in? Because it's just that. A fantasy. A dream. It's basically a representation of Wei Wuxian's wants for a domestic life, something he definitely has now! He's always been characterised as someone who wants to help others and who loves cultivation. Why would you think the dream is to be taken literally?

And the idea that Wei Wuxian has 'several important relationships just floating there', that he's not dealing with... Where? Which ones? He teaches the juniors and grows closer to Jin Ling. He doesn't exactly interact with Lan Xichen, but he asks after him. He meets Mianmian again and wishes her well. He asks after Wen Ning after Lan Sizhui comes back then has some father-son bonding moments with him!

Nie Huaisang and Wei Wucian aren't close. They were friendly once, but they didn't ever meet after the lectures. I don't see how that qualifies as an "important" relationship, especially with Nie Huaisang never openly admitting to his part in Wei Wuxian's resurrection. But even then, Wei wuxian says he'll be keeping a close eye on him, so one can imagine they meet again at some point.

As for Jiang Cheng... what more do you want Wei Wuxian to do exactly? Even if you want a reconciliation, why can't Jiang Cjeng be he one to actually grow up and do the work for once? He's the one who never apologized. He's the one who is still openly hostile in the extras. If Wei Wuxian wants to move on and not interact with him, he's well within his right to do that, given how Jiang Cheng treated him. Hell, he's more generous than most since he encourages Jin Ling to talk to Jiang Cheng. If I'd been treated by someone like Jiang Cheng treated Wei Wuxian and saw him hit our nephew several times, I certainly wouldn't encourage them to meet. (But that's Wei Wuxian for you, the moral ideal and better than all of us.)

Anyway, I really don't understand why people insist on making Wangxian have a sadder ending than the one they actually did. It's a HEA for them, sorry guys. And yeah, maybe Wei wuxian has some trauma to work on... but the whole point of the character is that he doesn't let his trauma define him. That he wants to forgives, forgets and moves on.

(Also, just because he doesn't have a breakdown or the cultivation equivalent of therapy in the extra doesn't mean he's not working on them? He finally is at peace, with a solid support network. Maybe he does talk about his past hurts with Lan Wangji - Lan Wangji certai ly knows when to comfort him when he needs it. But the narrative point of the extras is to show they're moving on from the past! And you know what, sometimes the beat thing to do to heal is to do just that. They're living their best lives, deal with it.)

And finally... shit did you really read the whole book and come to the conclusion Wei Wuxian should have 'learned to accept help'? Who the fuck offered help? Who did he refuse?

(Don't say Lan Wangji. 1) I love him, but "Come back to Gusu" is very much not an obvious offer to help, and when Wei Wuxian understandably misunderstands him, he never manages to correct it.

And 2) once Wei Wuxian tells him explicitly he's not leaving the Wen remnants behind, Lan Wangji understands and backs off. He approves! I'm sure he'd do more if he could, but just like Jiang Yanli, he can't!)

Jiang Cheng literally said, 'No one will help you, no one is on your side' (and then made sure that was true by saying Wei Wuxian was the enemy of the cultivation world). Jin Zixuan chose to ask the one who was ambushed to disarm rather than the 300 cultivators attacking him and lunged at him when Wei Wuxian refused to comply (because he'd be killed if he did!!). How is that help?

Who else tried to help? Whose help did Wei Wuxian reject?

Wei Wuxian was presented with a series of bad choices and took the best he could, the ones aligned with his principles, accepting he'd have to face consequences at some point but also knowing it was still worth it. He's not the one who failed or made a fatal mistake or betrayed his word.

Rant over. Sorry about that.

[myblurryreality]

MDZS headcanons (& fanon) takes that no one asked for! 👍🏽

- Wei Wuxian would have left the Jiang sect if the war never happened

- In the right circumstances, Jin Zixuan and Wei Wuxian could be friendly (idk Abt friends)

- Lan Xichen and Jiang Yanli would have made a cute and content couple, like the quiet constant love.

- Jiang Fengmain and Wei Wuxian's parents drifted apart but there was no true bad blood

- Qingheng-Jun was selfish and paralyzed with it, he was too narrow-minded to see the hurtful ripple effects his decisions would have.

- I headcanon that though they look enough alike to be referred to as twins, Lan Xichen favors his father and Lan Wangji favors his mother.

- I think Wei Wuxian would have developed Guido eventually, even without the war.

- In the modern world Jiang Yanli would have gone low contact with some of her family.

- Wei Wuxian, similarly, would have done so with the Jiang's in the modern world

- Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji would have gotten together during the lectures under the right circumstances.

- This is not a headcanon, but I relate to Lan Wangji's mortification over getting a crush, in this economy.

- In a soulmate AU, where one gets the name of their soulmate at 25 that only you and your soulmate can see, Jiang Cheng gets his to only realize it's someone he killed or he killed someone dear to them. (This is a fic idea)

- Lan Wangji (15) is the youngest of the young masters we were introduced to in his generation and Jin Zixuan (16) is the oldest.

- I feel like Jin Zixuan and Wen Qing would have made a good political match. She's cunning and experienced enough to navigate the trappings of the Jin Clan and guide her husband.

- I headcanon that the Yu clan while politically ruthless when marrying off their daughters, were generally decent people for gentry folks. Madam Yu's personality was all her own.

- I also headcanon them as matriarchal and that they offered to take in Wei Wuxian but Jiang Fengmain refused.

- Madam Jin is a bitch but I don't think she's Madam Yu bad.

- Wei Wuxian would have made something of himself even if he had never been taken into a clan, I could see him becoming a farmer.

- While I much prefer the book canon, the handfasting scene in 'The Untamed' adaption opens up so many plot doors.

[lilapplesheadcannons]

Nie MingJue has a pet chicken. No, it's not a spiritual rooster. It's not his emotional support animal. It's not smart enough or loyal enough to be anything other than dinner. Which it was supposed to be. Except the cook is not as nimble as she was, and the chicken made a mighty escape from her arthritic fingers. Nie Mingjue came out of his study room to shout at whoever was causing the ruckus and was hit by what seemed like a moulting feather duster on his midriff. The kitchen staff were banished promptly to the kitchen by him. But in their hurry to get away, they left him holding the chicken.

Most people think the chicken is significant to him. Even Jin GuangShang made sure to ask Nie MingJue about his new pet and its extraordinary feats. Nie Mingjue will strangle HuaiSang the moment he gets his hands on the little rat because who else would spread the rumours that a chicken can count up to 10 and sing like an oriole? Who has ever heard of a chicken singing? Damn it, damn it, damn it!

But despite the headache caused by a chicken in his living quarter (spilt ink, upturned rice bowls, feather under his pillow), Nie MingJue doesn't order the kitchen to take away the chicken.

"What do you call him?" Lan Xichen brings out few grains of rice from his sleeve.

Nie MingJue runs a tired hand over his face. He wishes people wouldn't attempt to feed a chicken in his living quarter. Or assume he's actually raising that chicken.

"Nothing. I don't call it anything."

"Nonsense. You must give him an appropriate name. How about...."

"Her."

"Pardon?"

"It's a she." Surely Xichen knows the difference between a rooster and a hen? On the other hand, you can never tell with the Lans.

"Oh. How about Xiao Hua?"

"I am not naming it."

"Come on. You can't raise her without giving her a pretty name."

"I am not trying to raise her, I swear. For heaven's sake, it's a chicken!"

Xichen turns to meet his eyes. "Are you angry? I am sorry, it was presumptuous of me to try to name your chicken."

Nie MingJue growls before stomping away. Tonight, he'll order the kitchen to make stewed chicken.

Except the chicken doesn't really end up stewed. Or boiled or fried or anything else. It ends up with a golden ring on its ankle. Jin GuangYao only smiles apologetically when Nie MingJue asks him about it. People start referring to the chicken as Jingwei, much to MingJue's chagrin. He gets confronted by the sight of a bunch of Lan teen disciples intently staring at the chicken pecking at the ground and taking notes. On the next discussion conference, the Yiling Laozu himself plops down beside him and goes into a rant about headstrong pets and their antiques. Nie Mingjue is so exhausted, he nods along even though he's pretty sure he'd catch fire any moment from the glare Wangji is sending his way. Jiang Wanyin drags Wei Wuxian away after a while, and Nie MingJue sighs. But his relief is short-lived as Jin GuangYao carefully carries the chicken to him.

"She was beginning to get restless," he offers as an explanation.

Nie MingJue wants to scream. Instead, he takes the chicken and starts patting its bony spine.

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

[wangxianficrecs]

'cause it's worth the sacrifice to finally be strong by MichelleFeather

‘cause it’s worth the sacrifice to finally be strong

by MichelleFeather

G, 4k, Wangxian

Summary: "Why does no one believe you both are in a relationship with each other?" he asked over dinner, Lan Huan not in attendance. Lan Zhan and Wei Ying shared a glance filled with years of that exact same question - along with the rage, anger, sadness, and acceptance that came with such a thought. Wei Ying swirled his drink around with his straw, the ice softly clinking against the clear glass. "They don't believe us. That's the only conclusion we've ever been able to come to Uncle." he responded, hesitantly looking up at the elder. "Uncle, you and the Wen siblings are the only people who believe Wei Ying and I are together, that we are married. Brother has always said we were best friends, soulmates, then immediately offered to arrange dates for me." ------------------------------------------------ Reverse trope: "instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren't actually dating" Kay's comments: I'm actually really fond of the trope that no one believes it that two people are actually dating, but unfortunately, we have so few stories, which made me even happier to stumble upon this one. Very well done story where no one apart from Lan Qiren and the Wen siblings actually believe that Wangxian are dating. Some of it is due to homophobia, some of it disbelief and my heart aches for them. Luckily, Lan Qiren is actually really supportive in this story and looks out for them, urging them to cut people out of their life who don't accept their relationship even after five years of marriage. Bonus point for surprisingly decent person Jin Zixuan. Excerpt: But this evening in particular, Lan Qiren was supposed to be at his Saturday night book club, he was supposed to not be back until close to 9pm. So, when the front door opened at 7:30pm, and had a straight view into the living room - where Wei Ying was perched on Lan Zhan’s lap, hands tangled in his hair - well, Lan Qiren wasn’t the happiest person in the world. Wei Ying still has nightmares of that moment, of being caught with his shirt hanging off his body, Lan Zhan’s hands palming and cupping his ass through his sweatpants, his own hands alternating between cupping Lan Zhan’s face and tugging him closer by his hair. After the initial anger had subsided, after they had gotten all their clothes back on, Lan Qiren told them to sit at the table - where they would continue to sit in silence for almost 30 minutes. “How long has this been going on?” Wei Ying could feel Lan Zhan’s hand tightly grasping his underneath the table. “Four years today, Uncle.” Wei Ying could tell that Lan Qiren had been expecting a much different answer, perhaps a more recent one, rather than four years. It had almost been as shocking to Wei Ying that they had managed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone for as long as they had. The simple fact that it was Lan Zhan’s uncle that discovered their relationship first seemed like a bad omen to him at the time - not knowing that the man would come to be one of their greatest supporters from there on out.

pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern no powers, established relationship, good uncle lan qiren, good person jin zixuan, lan xichen/jin guangyao/nie mingjue, 3zun, married lan wangji/wei wuxian, adopted lan sizhui, jiang family bashing, lan xichen tries, homophobia, families of choice, friends to lvoers, supportive lan qiren, marriage

~*~

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

[thatswhatsushesaid]

did nie mingjue give jin guangyao a 'new life' after his mother's death?

okay i'm not trying to call out one post specifically or anything but this is definitely not the first post on this site to call jin guangyao the cruelest character in MDZS, and that is such a reach, especially when both xue yang and jin guangshan are, you know, right there. but i also want to dig into one of the points raised about jin guangyao and nie mingjue's relationship, and what they owe to each other, because i could not disagree with the principle assertion more.

so, did jin guangyao "[kill] the man who gave him a new life after his mother died"?

I assume we are discussing nie mingjue here and not jin guangshan lmfao.

okay, let's for the sake of argument assume your assertion that jin guangyao owes nie mingjue a life debt is correct. to be clear: I don't think it is. i do not think that meng yao owes nie mingjue a life debt when he comes into his service, nor do I think that he accrues one after receiving his courtesy name and title of lianfang-zun. but let's just pretend anyway.

JGY LIFE DEBTS OWED TO NMJ (STARTING TALLY): 1 - because nie mingjue gave him a job NMJ LIFE DEBTS OWED TO JGY (STARTING TALLY): 0 - how nice for him

I also want to emphasize that nie mingjue's attempt to help creates additional hardship for meng yao that he likely wouldn't have experienced if nie mingjue had stopped to ask him what he wanted before deciding he knew best. recall that he did not offer meng yao a promotion after overhearing his cultivators mocking his low birth: he just gave it to him, without considering how this promotion might (and in fact did) cause the bullying and harassment meng yao received from the nie sect cultivators to escalate. please also remember that meng yao does not ask mingjue for a letter of recommendation to take to jin guangshan to seek his recognition--he does not even want to leave! in fact he is explicitly telling lan xichen in that moment before nie mingjue interrupts their conversation that he feels obligated to remain with nie mingjue! it is nie mingjue who decides to send him off to jin guangshan with a letter of recommendation, and while meng yao expresses his immense gratitude for this gesture in the moment, it is so important to emphasize that he not only did not ask for this, but he was not asked if he wanted it, either. even then, the letter of recommendation that nie mingjue sends along with meng yao when he opts to release him from his service does not open any doors for meng yao at all. in fact, jin guangshan seems to use this as the perfect opportunity to eliminate another inconvenient bastard son during war time, and assigns meng yao--a weak and self-taught cultivator--to the front lines under a captain who not only beats and abuses him, but also forces him to come up with military strategies for the jin sect's successes, which he then takes the credit for when reporting to jin guangshan. if meng yao had not killed this captain, it's likely he would have died on the langye front during the sunshot campaign. meng yao gives himself a new life as jin guangyao and lianfang-zun because he is the one who kills wen ruohan during the battle for nightless city, and he does this entirely on his own (making use of deceit and trickery that nie mingjue finds dishonourable, in fact).

but anyway. after presumably giving meng yao this 'new life' in the form of the impromptu field promotion that meng yao did not ask for, meng yao repays his, um, debt (is that what we owe our employers when we are already providing them our labour?) to nie mingjue in full (??? only in full? he isn't, you know, maybe owed some change?) when he saves nie mingjue's life from wen ruohan at the battle of nightless city. and to save myself a lot of stress and frustration, let's all just collectively agree that, while the life-debt ratio of "giving someone a job" vs "risking your life to save else's" is absolutely not 1:1 in the real world, we're just. assuming it is, for the sake of this argument. the salient point is jin guangyao's ledger is now clear. he's back in the black, as it were.

JGY LIFE DEBTS OWED TO NMJ (UPDATED TALLY): 0 - he saved the life of the guy who gave him a job NMJ LIFE DEBTS OWED TO JGY (UPDATED TALLY): 0 - and the guy who gave jgy the job does not owe him anything in return for having his life saved, since jobs and lives are interchangeable and of equal value apparently

that's it, y'all, they're square.

except nie mingjue then explicitly attempts to murder meng yao/jin guangyao three times before jin guangyao even begins to play the song of spirit turmoil for him. which means we need a new scoreboard for keeping track of the mutual-murder attempts that define the rest of their relationship, beginning immediately post-sunshot campaign. here's where the mutual-murder attempt tally stands:

JGY'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER NMJ (STARTING TALLY): 0 - he did literally the opposite of attempting to murder nie mingjue NMJ'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER JGY (STARTING TALLY): 1 - nie mingjue tries to kill meng yao (who is not fighting back!!) with baxia, prior to being stopped by lan xichen (chapter 49)

that's explicit attempt #1! but if we believe that part of lan xichen's intent with all three of them swearing brotherhood to each other was to, in essence, provide jin guangyao and nie mingjue a clean slate upon which to rebuild trust in their relationship, then let's go ahead and reset that scoreboard. even though that is not how reconciliation between human beings actually works, particularly not when mutually-inflicted trauma is at work, but. whatever.

JGY'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER NMJ (UPDATED TALLY): 0 - by the power vested in zewu-jun as the first jade of lan, apparently NMJ'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER JGY (UPDATED TALLY): 0 - zewu-jun now pronounces u both even stevens, you may put baxia down. ..put it down, mingjue.

nie mingjue does not put baxia down, figuratively or literally. explicit attempt to murder jin guangyao #2 happens after they have sworn their binding oath of brotherhood to each other, and is the infamous "what else should I expect from the son of a prostitute" confrontation at the top of the jinlintai tower steps. nie mingjue literally kicks jin guangyao down 50 solid stone steps, which could easily have broken his neck or spine (or both). please note that this was an unprovoked act of violence against a much, much weaker cultivator whose only offence[1] against nie mingjue--arguably the strongest cultivator and martial artist of his generation--at this point was… saying words nie mingjue didn't like, and not killing xue yang when nie mingjue told him to. time to update the scoreboard again!

JGY'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER NMJ (UPDATED TALLY): 0 - no, jin guangyao has not begun playing the song of spirit turmoil for nie mingjue yet! (chapter 104) [2] NMJ'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER JGY (UPDATED TALLY): 1 - kicks nmj down the jinlintai steps, which, yes, is attempted murder (chapter 49)

which brings us to explicit murder attempt #3, which happens immediately after nie mingjue kicking him down the stairs. while jin guangyao is still recovering and picking himself up off the ground (in other words, not retaliating in any way or provoking further violence) nie mingjue unsheathes baxia to finish the job, and would absolutely have done so if lan xichen had not, yet again, intervened to protect jin guangyao. you know what time it is now.

JGY'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER NMJ (UPDATED TALLY): 0 - nope, still has not begun playing the song of spirit turmoil between getting punted down the stairs and standing back up again NMJ'S ATTEMPTS TO MURDER JGY (UPDATED TALLY): 2 - yes, this is a second attempt at actual murder, I am not going to argue about this with anyone

all of this happens /gestures @ literally all of that, while jin guangyao is continuously traveling back and forth between jinlintai and qinghe to play the unaltered version of cleansing to help stabilize nie mingjue's qi. we know this because lan xichen explicitly tells us this in chapter 49, and nie mingjue agrees with him. we also know that this unaltered version of cleansing is having a positive impact on nie mingjue's spirit and his relationship with jin guangyao, because wei wuxian remarks on this while experiencing nie mingjue's memories in empathy. to be very clear: before jin guangyao has played the song of spirit turmoil for nie mingjue even one time, nie mingjue has already tried to kill jin guangyao three times. he is actively attempting to murder jin guangyao while jin guangyao is actively working together with lan xichen to repair their relationship and forestall nie mingjue's inevitable death by qi deviation. and we can go around in circles all day about whether jin guangyao ultimately kills nie mingjue solely because he is defending himself against a man who will not stop trying to kill him, or whether he's doing this because daddy said jump, or if it is a bit of both--I fall into the "it is always a bit of both" camp with jin guangyao--but that is actually beside the point.

the point: if we are keeping score about who has attempted to murder whom (and how frequently) by the time nmj ultimately kicks it, the final tally is nie mingjue 3 - jin guangyao 1. if we include his attempt to kill jin guangyao at the point of his qi deviation, the final tally becomes nie mingjue 4 - jin guangyao 1. so, even if i didn't disagree with the principle assertion made here, i would argue that jin guangyao not only squared that debt to nie mingjue years ago by saving him from wen ruohan, nie mingjue in fact now owes a life debt to jin guangyao for all the attempts to kill the guy who literally saved his life.

tl;dr these are the actions of a man who gave his subordinate a lot of trauma and anxiety, but not a new life.

[1] I am shelving any discussion of what meng yao does or doesn't owe nie mingjue within the context of his time spent undercover in wen ruohan's court because I feel there is nuance enough in that situation to justify its own post. meng yao and nie mingjue both deeply, irreparably traumatized each other in that situation and should never have been let within 6 li of each other ever again after the end of the war, much less pressured to swear brotherhood to each other. (grips lan xichen's shoulders, stares deeply into his beautiful eyes: wtf were you thinking, er-ge)

[2] even if I were to agree that he obtained the song of spirit turmoil in advance of the stairs incident and had already begun playing the song for nie mingjue (which I do not), it is clear that mingjue is improving, pre-stairs. this implies that jin guangyao, while he may have prepared a contingency plan, has not been putting any spiritual power into the portion of cleansing that contains the altered bars of the music. we know that he is capable of altering which parts of the song receive spiritual power because both wei wuxian and lan xichen confirm that this is possible in their (emotionally fraught, for poor xichen) conversation inside the cloud recesses library pavilion after the torn page is discovered. this, combined with the two to three month time frame that the altered song requires to trigger mingjue's qi deviation, plus the two month time frame that jin guangyao presents disingenuously to nie mingjue regarding xue yang, are clear textual evidence in support of my position. the music changes after the stairs.

[jaimebluesq]

For the Nie Mingjue prompt: He's not everyone's Da-ge, he's everyone's didi!

And if you're not feeling the age swap situation, then maybe canonverse NMJ loses his memory somehow (curse? qi deviation unusual effects?) and needs everyone's help to remember who he is (but specially Huaisang’s 🥺)

Damn, how did this prompt go over 2k?! *Ahem*.

Thank you so much for this prompt! I very much enjoy reverse Nie bros! I got to write then once before and decided to turn this prompt into a sequel (but you don't need to have read Maybe if the stars align, maybe if our worlds collide to follow the worldbuilding!)

So, on to the prompt fill - I hope you enjoy :D

~ ~ ~

Nie Huaisang bit his lip in thought, and a little frustration. He’d been to the rooms assigned to the Lan sect, and hadn’t found his brother anywhere – normally Lan Qiren would have absconded Nie Mingjue somewhere to discuss night hunts, or Lan Xichen would have dragged him away somewhere for tea, but neither had seen him since the banquet that evening. Nor was Nie Mingjue among the Jin – they were in Koi Tower, after all, and the sects had been invited for a grand celebration on Jin Zixuan’s birthday, and though the boy was vain and snobbish at times, he often came out of his shell to take Nie Mingjue under his wing and show him around the grounds or take him to spar on the training field. Nie Mingjue had certainly not been among the Wen – even after Wen Ruohan’s ‘mysterious’ death two years ago, the Nie and the Wen were far from friendly, even if Wen Xu’s reign was nowhere near as contentious as his father’s (Nie Huaisang was quite thankful that he, rather than Wen Chao, had come out on top when the two brothers fought for dominion over their sect).

He was finishing looking around the smaller sects’ delegations, intending to head for the Jiangs’ quarters next, when he was stopped by a feminine voice nearby. “Oh, Nie-zongzhu? It’s quite fortunate that I found you!”

He lifted his fan to cover his frown and sighed. It was Sect Leader Yao’s sister, of course it was. She was nowhere as unpleasant as her brother, thankfully, but she did have a habit of making a nuisance of herself. Particularly to him.

“Ah, Yao-guniang, I hope you’ve been enjoying the birthday celebrations. How may I assist you?”

She fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly and waved her round fan over her chest – her neckline showing far more cleavage than was proper. Normally he would not mind – he did have a reputation for enjoying the company of women (and men), after all – but he knew she’d had particular designs on him for two years now.

“I heard that the matchmakers have been a great bother to Nie-zongzhu of late,” she offered with an attractive pout. “So disrespectful to hound such a great man, no doubt still grieving the late Madame Nie. I would be more than happy to have a word or two with them, if it would help.”

Yes, the matchmakers had been on his case of late to petition for various women wishing to be the next Madame Nie. He knew he would have to accept one eventually, but he had yet to decide upon what alliance would be most advantageous. Most believed he was still mourning the ‘accidental’ death of his wife during a night hunt – the better that they did not think further upon the timing of her death with that of Wen Ruohan. While they had not been a love match, Yu Jinzhu and he had developed an affection for one another, and he knew she would not want her sacrifice in pursuit of assassinating Wen Ruohan to put his sect in danger.

He also knew that Yao YuFeng’s offer was far from altruistic – she’d had designs on becoming the next Madame Nie since the day of the funeral.

“That is very kind of Yao-guniang,” he said with a charming smile that prompted her fan to move a little faster, “but this one is not afraid of the matchmakers. When I am ready to marry again, only then will I have need of them. But until that time, I have a sect to run, and a brother to find.”

“Is your Didi lost again?” Her smile and chuckle were now far more genuine. “He’s grown to be such a handsome boy, and a great cultivator even at his age! And I have yet to meet a girl who can resist the temptation to pinch his cheeks when his dimples show.”

“Yes, that’s the very reason why I lose him so often. He’s far too happy to help anyone who asks, and is often led astray.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “If I allowed him, he would go weeks without seeing his Da-ge and spend all of his time helping people in need. My Didi forgets me so!”

“Such a thing is impossible,” she replied. “Everyone knows Nie Mingjue adores his brother and threatens anyone who even thinks of questioning the way you run your sect. He is a credit to Qinghe Nie, and to his Da-ge.”

He tilted his head in thanks at her kind words. “Your kindness does your sect credit, Yao-guniang. Now if you’ll forgive me, a process of elimination is leading me to the Jiang sect’s quarters – hopefully I’ll find my misplaced Didi there.”

“I wish you the best of luck, Nie-zongzhu,” she offered with a short bow, that he echoed.

Thankfully, she had the grace to leave his side, allowing him to continue on his way.

He took a path through the gardens outside on his way to the Jiang delegation’s rooms, enjoying the cool night air, and he spotted a pair of figures sitting outside in the lantern-light. The two boys seemed to be pouting – well, one looked positively grumpy, while the other one pouted only a little as he bumped his shoulder into the other’s. But the moment Nie Huaisang came close enough to be lit by the lanterns, both boys jumped up onto their feet and made proper bows.

“Nie-zongzhu!” they chorused.

“You’ve been enjoying the celebrations, I hope!” Wei Wuxian crowed with a charming grin.

“Are you here to get Nie-xiong?” Jiang Cheng added, a little too much hope in his voice.

Nie Huaisang did his best not to let a smirk creep upon his face.

“I have been searching for him,” he replied, “and this was my next stop. I do hope my Didi hasn’t been too much of a nuisance.”

“Nie-xiong is never a bother,” Jiang Cheng replied – unsurprising, since he and Nie Mingjue had been close since they were young, and Jiang Cheng had yet to refuse an invitation to come to Qinghe and visit with Jasmine, Princess, and Love.

“Not a bother – but he is a thief,” Wei Wuxian countered unapologetically.

Nie Huaisang lifted his fan to cover his silent chuckle. “Well, would you be so kind as to escort me to my thieving Didi?”

“Of course! Right this way, Nie-zongzhu,” Wei Wuxian offered in a way that was almost flirtatious – ah, to be fifteen again.

As the three of them walked, Nie Huaisang was reminded of how fast these young cultivators grew up. When he’d first taken over as sect leader, he’d been their age, and they had been but children playing at being cultivators. And now they were all grown, and already taller than he was. At times he felt like an ant wandering among trees.

Jiang Cheng knocked on a door and opened it, calling out: “Jiejie! We have a visitor!”

Inside the luxuriously appointed guest rooms, Jiang Yanli had set up a table with tea and many kinds of food – and across from her, shyly accepting an affectionate pat on the head, was Nie Huaisang’s missing Didi. The two looked up at their entrance and Nie Mingjue’s face lit up.

“Da-ge!”

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, A-Jue,” he teased. He knew his brother and that his absences were rarely purposeful – he had simply been ‘adopted’ by so many older disciples that constantly sought him out, wanting to spoil him or teach him or drag him out on night hunts. “I’ve been looking for you for nearly an hour.”

Nie Mingjue looked sheepish; he stood up and bowed to his brother. “This one apologizes to Nie-zongzhu.”

“No apologies necessary, something simply came up at the last minute.” Nie Huaisang turned to Jiang Yanli. “I hope Jiang-guniang does not mind me stealing back my brother.”

“Of course, Nie-zongzhu,” she replied kindly with an elegant bow. “Had I known he was missing, I would have sent him back to your delegation’s rooms.”

“No harm is done – and there are few I trust with my brother’s welfare as much as you and your family.” She tilted her head in thanks, her cheeks flushing brightly. Not for the first time did he think she would make an excellent wife – but not only was she betrothed to Jin Zixuan, but Yu Ziyuan had told him in no uncertain terms that her daughter (and son, for that matter) were off-limits to his wandering eyes.

But a man could still look and appreciate.

Everyone wished each other farewell for the night, and Nie Huaisang and his brother were finally en route to their rooms.

“Is something the matter, Da-ge?” Nie Mingjue asked quietly when they were finally alone.

“Nothing is wrong,” he replied, keeping his eyes ahead of him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look at his brother, but with how he had to crane his head up to look at him since his last growth spurt, it hurt his neck a lot less to keep his eyes on the path ahead. “But there is someone I want you to meet. Someone I believe has some potential in our sect, but who will require some time to adjust to our ways.” He paused as they passed a servant, and only continued once they were long past them. “Furthermore, I want to get your impression of them.”

“Of course,” Nie Mingjue replied. “Whatever I can do to help.”

He smiled to himself – this was why everyone wished Nie Mingjue were their little brother.

When they reached the Nie delegation’s quarters, one of their disciples held the door open for them as they entered. The healer within stood up and bowed in greeting.

“How is he?” Nie Huaisang asked her, glancing over to where a young man sat by the window. When he saw Nie Huaisang had returned, he stood up and lowered into a gracious bow of his own.

“Nothing that cannot be healed,” she replied reassuringly. “I’m more concerned at his malnourishment than I am the few scrapes and bruises he acquired today.”

He nodded and dismissed her with a wave of his fan. He stepped further into the room once the door clicked shut behind him. “Didi, I would like to introduce you to a young man I met earlier today. This is Meng Yao, and I have invited him to come back to Qinghe with us. He wishes to become a cultivator, and I believe we may have a place for him in the Unclean Realm.”

“It is an honour to meet you,” Meng Yao said in a practised tone of voice, the same one that had impressed Nie Huaisang upon their first meeting outside when the young man had stood up from the bottom of Koi Tower’s steps. He’d seen something in him immediately that he recognized – someone who did not have the same strength and skill with weapons that were the basis of many cultivators’ training, but instead he saw someone adept at the more subtle arts that Nie Huaisang called his own, that his father had brought in teachers from Meishan Yu to teach him many years ago.

In Meng Yao, he had seen himself.

“What happened to you?” Nie Mingjue asked bluntly, as was his way.

Meng Yao lifted a hand to self-sonsciously touch the darkened bruise on his cheek, and when he smiled, his lower lip showed red from where it had been split. “It is nothing, Nie-gongzi.”

“Was it a night hunt?” Nie Mingjue asked – Nie Huaisang said nothing, merely standing back and watching his brother. “Or bandits?”

The response was a wince, and Meng Yao shook his head. “It is nothing-”

Nie Mingjue's eyes narrowed. “Who hurt you? Only a coward hurts someone who can’t or won’t fight back.” He reached for his saber, strapped securely to his back, but he stopped when Meng Yao reached out a hand to stop him. “Point me their way and I’ll-”

“It’s all right, young master. I will be fine.” Meng Yao’s eyes softened noticeably the way so many others did when they thought Nie Mingjue’s righteousness adorable, and Nie Huaisang found nothing to indicate it was an act. “You need not worry about this one. I merely wish to do what I can to thank Nie-zongzhu for his kindness.”

“It’s almost time for bed,” Nie Huaisang announced. “Meng Yao, why don’t you escort my brother to his room and help him take his hair down for the night? It will give you a chance to better see some of his braids – they’re typical for our sect, and you may wish to wear some of your own one day.”

“It would be an honour, Nie-zongzhu,” Meng Yao replied.

Nie Mingjue snorted. “Right this way,” he mumbled, “and you can tell me how you got hurt.”

“As I told your brother, Nie-gongzi, it was but a simple tumble down the stairs...”

Nie Huaisang watched his brother and Meng Yao walk away. It was going to be interesting having one of Jin Guangshan’s bastards around – not that he’d revealed to the young man that he’d overheard that part of the encounter on the stairs – particularly one that, like everyone else, fell under the sway of Nie Huaisang’s Didi’s charm.

That night, when Nie Huaisang slipped into his empty bed, he allowed himself a moment of true weakness. Wen Ruohan was dead, but there would always be sect politics, and people needing his attention, and yao and ghosts to fight. At times he was overwhelmed by it all, truly overwhelmed in a way the Headshaker never was. But he had a duty to fulfill, a sect to lead, and a brother to protect – and if he could do what he could to make certain Nie Mingjue never had to worry about anything in life, then it would all be worth it – just like what it had secretly cost them all to take down Wen Ruohan.

He sent a silent prayer to Jinzhu – he really did miss her at times, political though their marriage had been – and one to his and Nie Mingjue’s parents as well. Then, pushing his anxiety aside, he rolled over and allowed sleep to claim him.

The End

[fluesterscherben]

Headcanons/Thoughts about a Fem!WWX/ Yiling Matriarch AU

If Wei Ying is a woman, then so is Jiang Cheng. I don't make the rules.

That means someone else has to be the heir, so obviously Jiang Yanli is a man in this universe. The dynamic doesn't change much (shige is just as caring and just as good at making soup and parenting his menaces as shijie was, a'Ying is just as chaotic and a free spirit as a'Xian and a'Cheng is still angry and jealous and prickly) but it does a tiny bit, because a male Jiang Yanli has a lot more responsibility on his shoulders and a female Jiang Cheng as a bit less of it, because she isn't the heir (but she's still her mother's daughter, so...only a bit.) Jiang Yanli has eldest daughter syndrome in any universe.

Madam Yu is a tiny bit less hostile than in canon, because yeah, she still thinks that girl is her husband's bastard, but even if she was recognized Wei Ying couldn't be a threat to the position of Madam Yu's son. So she's still pissed, but a tiny bit less.

Jin Zixuan is a woman and has three younger sisters. Why? Because a male heir was needed and her parents had to keep trying. Unfortunatly Jin Guangshan seems incapeable of having legitimate sons. (Meng Yao is still male. And Qin Su is male too, for hilarity's sake. - all of Jin Guangshan's bastards are sons and two of them are older than his eldest legitimate daughter.) That makes Jin Zixun the heir to Lanling Jin.

Nie Mingjue is a woman. She runs the Nie Clan with an iron fist, officially as her brother's regent. A lady of war, brandishing a blade red like the blood it has spilled. (Her brother doesn't want to inherit. He wants to lounge around like a wet blanket and paint dainty things forever! Why couldn't he have been born a younger sister to an older brother, he laments to his friends. Embroidery and accounting and getting married off far away from where he has to do saber practice every day sounds like a dream actually! "Poor a'Sang! You would have been such a good little sister!", Wei Ying coos dramatically. "Suck it up, Huaisang.", Jiang Cheng grumbles, "And don't you dare cry into my robes, that's silk you fucking heathen.")

Lan Xichen is the heir to Gusu Lan. He loves his little sister dearly and would do just about everything to ensure her hapiness. Yes, even argue with the clan elders. Just a tiny bit. His aunt is completely done with his behaviour. (Not that she's any better.)

Acting Sect Leader of the Gusu Lan is Teacher Lan, the Sect Leader's younger sister. Yes, Fem!Lan Qiren. Sue me. It's mostly because the Lan seperate male and female students, and for me that means that there must also be a division between male and female teachers. So to teach Wei Ying and hate her on sight Lan Qiren has to be a woman. Sorry, not sorry.

Lan Zhan is the first daughter and second child of the Lan Clan main family line. Nothing really changes about her other than her adopting a'Yuan causing a much larger scandal (because unmarried woman suddenly has a child is much worse than unmarried man suddenly has a child, duh).

Nie Huaisang befriends the Lotus Pier girls when Wei Ying sneaks into the men's part of the Cloud Recesses one night out of curiosity and runs into him while he's being a tortured artist (read: drawing filthy porn outside by flickering candlelight because his roommates are asleep).

After the destruction of Lotus Pier Jin Guangshan offers the Jiang support - if Jiang Yanli marries into the Jin Clan, effectively making Yunmeng Jiang a part of the Jin sect. The marriage happens, but Jiang Cheng takes over as Leader of Lotus Pier to keep it independent. (Nie Huaisang volunteers to marry into her family and support her because he's turning twenty soon and he really doesn't want to be sect leader. His a'Jie vetoes it.)

Jin Guangshan marries one of his daughters to a male Qin Su, knowing full well that the boy might be his son. The newly named Jin Guangyao is in charge of wedding preparations. He is the one Madam Qin tells to stop the wedding. Obviously he doesn't.

Mo Xuanyu is still a man (very short from malnorishment and with a very feminine face, but still a man) . He apologizes for that fact quite a lot in his notes when he offers his body to the Yiling Matriarch.

The Junior Quartet consists of a Lan boy, a Lan girl who doesn't give a flying fuck about the fact that the rules say she should be on an all girls team, the heir to Lanling Jin and the heir to Baling Ouyang.

[pharahsgf]

i:m sad lwj gets such a bad rep from jc fans and non wangxian fans in general. he's so good... i struggle to put into words why i like him but he's such a good character. he deserves to not be made ooc in fandom stuff :,|

g-d fr. anyway here's my incomplete list of things i like about lan wangji in no particular order

his resting bitch face and intimidating icy exterior hide a soft and romantic heart but also he is genuinely a bitch and intimidating and would stab someone for disrespecting his husband

the fact that he would stab someone for disrespecting his husband

very strong 'would get rained on to hold his umbrella over a tiny stray cat' energy

when jin zixun tries to peer pressure him into drinking only for lan wangji to 1. not care 2. make the gayest most openly homosexual expression humanly possible when wei wuxian swoops in to save him, no shame whatsoever

every time a social event occurs you see lan wangji sitting somewhere by himself just staring peacefully into the middle distance and thinking lwj thoughts and i always get the distinct impression that lan xichen went to him beforehand like "wangji i know you don't like to socialise but you should really try talking to some people today, it'll be good for you and you might make some new friends" and lan wangji was like hm and proceeded to not do any of that

it's such a stupid cute detail that lan wangji buried a'yuan in a pile of bunnies. like what the hell. i am on the verge of tears

conversation: *gets personal* lwj: *leaves*

his little smirk when he calls wwx boring in ep8 like you can almost see the photoshopped sunglasses and hear denzel curry's ultimate

he's considered an unequaled prodigy when it comes to guqin abilities and inquiry specifically like he can communicate with ghosts by playing music and they're not even physically able to lie to him how is that not the coolest shit ever

HE SAID BYE TO THE BUNNIESSSS

wwx doesn't even expect to be doted on and treated like a princess after coming back lan wangji did that entirely on his own volition. wei wuxian just exists in peace and lan wangji will start picking him up and throwing money at him and composing soaring love ballads dedicated to his beauty

the fact that despite all this he will hesitate for exactly zero seconds to make fun of wwx when he's acting stupid

very strong emotional inertia causing his character to be in a near-constant state of mourning as represented visually by his white clothing and the frost/snow motif that accompanies the respective apotheoses of said mourning. which, in addition to being genuinely heart-wrenching, FUCKS as an aesthetic

associated with rabbits and dragons, easily two of the coolest animals

episode 43 drives me insane. lan wangji with his hair down dressed down domestic as fuck bringing wwx emperor's smile and setting out tea and playing their song, laying no expectations on wwx but making it clear that he's welcome and wanted and offering his love and warmth for wwx when he's ready... augh romance, tenderness, throwing bouquets and roses

"you are not qualified to speak to me"

he's canonically good at math which isn't relevant to anything but i do feel like it adds a new dimension to his character

he wrote a gentle, soul-baring, beautiful song that silently confesses his love for a person who remembered the melody even decades after first hearing it and then made its title a portmanteau of their names

kneel.

*spends 3 years in seclusion to learn from & reflect on his grave sin of defending and siding with wwx the evil demonic cultivator* *returns to immediately add wwx the evil demonic cultivator's inventions to the core curriculum*

was a cute baby so you know he's blessed

he's one of the best if not Thee best cultivator of his generation yet refuses to indulge in the narcissistic posturing his peers engage in and instead uses his privilege and access to exclusive resources to serve lower class people completely for free.. yes lord

*grips sword handle to communicate emotional issues*

very polite and well spoken and clearly well-versed in all kinds of etiquette but if he hates you he has no qualms about being as rude and disrespectful as he reasonably can (pov you are jiang cheng)

he is very fundamentally misunderstood by almost everyone he's ever met and when wwx starts figuring him out and realising what makes him tick he's entirely resistant and hostile to his intrusions despite deeply craving that intimacy and acknowledgement.... mortifying ordeal of being known in its purest form truly. i want to study him in a lab

how he slowly goes from being distant and frosty and rejecting all of wwx's offers of friendship to being so warm and attentive towards him and you look at those gifsets of early lwj vs later lwj and it's like the first rays of sun after a long winter like he's radiant

ally to bi women (nice to mianmian)

when he was punished alongside wwx jc & nhs the first blow landed and he didn't even FLINCH, he sat there back straight and chin up with the dignity of a king and wwx was so impressed he caught himself mid-overreaction to follow lan wangji's example. absolutely iconic

188cm

the fact that he spends the entire gusu lectures arc in an ongoing emotional crisis bc wei wuxian is too attractive and he doesn't know how to deal w it

there have been zero small animals who didn't immediately trust lan wangji with their life so again. blessed

[r95irth]

I was tagged by @evilhasnever to find paragraphs in my WIPs with the words gaze, neck, step.

I will go with the Jiaoren AU, since it's my most advanced WIP. Thank you for tagging me <3 And here is the joke...the three words you picked i used them all in one same scene xD Which is this one :

It takes an hour or so for A-Yao to finally emerge from his slumber. Lan Xichen is busy cleaning Jingyi’s egg when he stirrs, but he is by his side in only one step. He looks better than yesterday, even if still pale. He blinks a few times as he stares at his pair of legs.  Lan Xichen remembers the joy on A-Yao’s face the first time he had shifted, his beaming smile, his dimples.There’s nothing of that today behind the exhaustion, his lover simply moves them slightly, then stares at the floor with caution.  His heart breaks a little, and he offers his hand to his lover.   “Do you want help getting out?" At least there is some joy when A-Yao’s gaze meets his, and a small smile as he takes the offer. Lan Xichen puts Jingyi back into his basket.  Wei Wuxian’s crow immediately flies back to it, and in its hurry pushes A-Yao’s back. Lan Xichen moves forward to catch him, A-Yao wraps his arms around his lover’s neck and in the same movement, gives the crow a very efficient kick, sending him away from his egg. 

But i will be playful and say this one only counts for step and pick the next word in another scene is for NECK :

“Is anyone here?” He asks, his voice getting low. “Wen-guniang?” A-Yao moves slightly to get a better view but Lan Xichen puts a protective hand over him and orders in a whisper : “Arms around my neck.”  A-Yao’s blood runs cold and he obeys, looking at Lan Xichen’s back to protect him from surprise attack. All his senses are up, as Lan Xichen puts his now free hand on his sword’s handle. What happened? Is Jingyi okay? He wants to ask back but he can’t, and it does horrible thing to his stomach. Nausea filling his throat and filling the empty space in his mouth. My egg, I didn’t protect my egg, i’m a terrible father I left them- It echoes, it explodes with a certainty that hurts more than everything he ever experienced : I left them alone! And then suddenly it pops, and someone yells in the back :  “LET US PASS!!”

And finally the word GAZE :

A-Yuan frowns again, his gaze going between Lan Wangji -as if to check if he is being serious- then Wei Wuxian, then the crow, then the egg. Eventually he drops all these complicates stuff and asks the real important question :  “When are they going out? I want to play with them! They like butterflies? I have 2 butterfly toys. I can share one! We can make them kiss!” Lan Wangji shakes his head : “It is very kind of you to share your toy. But I am not sure when they’ll be here, it will hatch eventually-” He doesn’t finish his sentence as he notices Wei Ying going behind the vanity screen, and his heartbeat raises up. Maybe Wen Qing is behind the vanity screen, after all, it is her room! He pats A-Yuan’s head, and follows Wei Ying, only to find him looking around an empty bed.  “Sorry, i was checking if Wen Qing was here. I thought she would like to know A-Yuan did his first trip on his own. From what I gathered it’s like a huge thing for her family.”

Hope you'll like it UU° I didn't think i would have used those three words when i first saw the list but apparently i do use it. It's a fun game :D

As for tagging people so they could play too...@thefrogwitch @swaglexander-the-great and @wishthefish and with the words...huh...hug, cat, and stars ! Don't feel pressured to play though if you don't want to :D

[xluna-reclipse]

Do you also think that Su She's feelings for A-Yao were also more romantic than platonic? I felt like reading it between the lines. With XiYao I was not that obviously for me till I met you.

The magic incense burner in the shape of an elephant was previously in A-Yao's secret room. I found it so striking that WWX, as a paper man, noticed this apparently unimportant object while fleeing the room, that I marked the page and kept it in mind.

With that in mind, do you think Xichen used this item and in his confusion left it in the Lan sect library so Wangxian find it?

After realizing through you that XiYao are canon, which makes me happy beyond words, because A-Yao deserves the world and Xichen is the best boy, I have the theory that A-Yao used this incense burner to meet with Xichen in his dreams earlier.

Do you also think, that A-Yao was loyal to QS, even if they never lived as a married couple and that Xichen doesn't wanted to be the reason to tempt A-Yao to adultery, but that the meeting of A-Yao and Xichen in dreams thanks to the incense burner was for both something they could deal with?

Meanwhile, I understand that one can't believe everything the author says because she tends to joke. In the MDZS Wiki it is said that she has confirmed that JGY and NMJ fought in the coffin for 100 years. That's what makes me saddest. I prefer your theory that Xichen saves A-Yao's soul. Maybe JGY and NMJ really fought each other for 100 years, because there was no other solution, but I depend on the hope, that after that their souls were saved and didn't disappear.

Do you also think that Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu were friends, even though it wasn't mentioned, not even once? I don't find WWX in Yi city too conspicuous. Su She was there too and doesn't seem to have reported JGY that WWX was reviewed. So Xue Yang most have known MXY + how should he know that his spiritual power was low, to make profit out of it when he attacked WWX? XY and MXY were the same age, both close to JGY and both demonic cultivators. Maybe I overanalyse, but when XY talked with WWX he doesn't seemed to me like a big fan who meets his idol. Of course because he was still mourning XXC and wanted him desperately back, but I guess maybe too because he get to know that a friend of his youth was dead.

I'm convinced that Song Lan will safe XXC's and A-Qing's souls. Maybe it's absurd, but I like the dream that they will get to understand that XY wasn't a monster and make up with him. I have that idea from a great fanart artist. Do you think that's pure wish thinking?

Thank you in forwards for your answers and sorry that it get longer than planned.

I'd honestly prefer if each subject was asked in its own individual post, but as it is, I will try to be methodical about this and answer each, one at a time.

Of course, this is all prefaced with the warning that this is my current perceptive and is subject to change with a deeper understanding of the character, time, growth, degeneration etc

I think, if there was a romantic connection between Su She and Jin Guangyao, I'm afraid it would only be one directional.

When Wei Wuxian mentions Su She would have to be left behind, Su She's response is for Jin Guangyao to go ahead without him. Jin Guangyao then says thank you and takes the offer. That is not the behavior of someone in love with their subordinate, but the acceptance of a person towards the sacrifice of their guard.

The following is what I think.

Su She kind of treats Jin Guangyao like Wen Zhuliu treats Wen Ruohan, but if Wen Ruohan was softer. Jin Guangyao highly values Su She in the way you would value your second in command. Su She was likely privy to thoughts Lan Xichen didn't know existed. In a way, he knew more about Jin Guangyao. But at the same time, if Lan Xichen had been privy to the same information, his understanding would been deeper because Lan Xichen used to understand Jin Guangyao's substance while Su She may understand Jin Guangyao's actions.

This is, of course, all my opinion which may change over time. I look forward to what your opinion will be once your understanding of the characters has a chance to age.

[ninjakk]

Can i throw you a bone for some meta? So there’s a foot note in the seven seas en trans of mdzs that’s been echoing in my brain for the past month (vol 3 pg 56):

[The Four Great Grudges of ancient times are] “murder of one’s father (not patricide), robbery of one’s wife, annihilation of one’s country, and slaughter of one’s clan. A som will not have fulfilled his proper duty until the wrong is avenged, even at the cost of his life.”

Unfortunately I can’t find the Chinese source term (it should be somewhere in chps 51-55, when LWJ shoves some medicinal herbs at WWX’s burn mark despite his leg being bitten by the giant turtle monster.) Anyway, this totally reframed the narrative for me cuz I got thinking about who actually followed through, and the ‘statue of limitations’ on that vengeance. And then a lot about how Jiang Cheng was able to get his revenge, but he specifically didn’t let Jin Ling follow through on his, despite the Ghost General offering up his own head. Does Jiang Cheng actually have any rights to pursue further vengeance against Wei Wuxian after his first death? (And as a side note, how come no one ever calls him Jiang Wanyin except when he introduces himself to Lan Xichen and that final scene at the Jiang family mausoleum? It’s even like that in the donghua.) Then whether Lan Sizhui, after having been formally adopted into the Lan clan, has any right to vengeance at all. Is it like ‘war times, war crimes’ and then in peace times nothing you can do about it?

Food for thought. Would be super awesome if you answered, but no pressure. Have a lovely day :)

Hi Anon,

Thanks for your ask ☺️

I've been sitting on this a while, as I wasn't quite sure how to approach this - so apologies for the late response.

It's a very interesting question! And admittedly, it's not something I paid much attention to during my reading of the 7s version.

I'm not sure how seriously people take the little added extras 7s have 'bestowed' upon us, to be honest. They added a character bio for NHS that stated his weapon as 'crying' - which is hilarious, but not really canon.. well 🤔 They also rather infamously added a character bio for JFM that looked suspiciously like Madam Yu wrote it herself - just to name a few! So personally, I do take everything they add as 'extras' with a pinch of salt.

But, as you took the time to send such a detailed and interesting ask - we can certainly have a look at it! 🤗

These are my own opinions of course, and others may have different ideas. But as I said, this is just for fun.

Personally I don't think JC has any right at revenge against WWX in either lifetime. But since we're referencing the 'Four Great Grudges' as a reason - his apparent claim would be 'slaughter of one's clan'. But WWX did not slaughter the clan. Although the Wen sect gave WWX as the thinly veiled reason for coming to the sect, he was not the real cause and it was not by his own hand. JC even admitted later in the novel that the Wen sect would have eventually attacked either way. If we look at it another way though, JC definitely got revenge for the death of his father and the slaughter of his clan. He contributed in bringing the Wen sect down and (practically) annihilated the entire clan with the rest of the cultivation world. So he's had his revenge, that's for certain - and technically, that is very much thanks to WWX!

As for JL, his reason for revenge, according to the 'Four Great Grudges' would be 'murder of one's father'. This is a tough one. Firstly, his father died during a surprise attack on WWX - where WWX was just trying to defend himself during an ambush. Granted JZX was only there to stop the attack, but WWX wasn't sure if he should trust him. Since JZX was the one who invited him in the first place, it's difficult not to be suspicious! JZX wasn't very fair in asking WWX to back down first, when he was the one who was being attacked either. At this point WWXs trust is broken, so it's a big ask for him to step down first and put his life at risk. Not that it excuses the fact he was killed of course. JZXs death, although tragic, was an accident after all, so it technically wasn't murder as such. Not that anyone thought that at the time, they had already painted WWX as evil no matter what he did. But I guess in JLs eyes it was murder either way.

I'm not sure what JL knows about what happened back then - but considering the rumours and JC being his uncle, it probably had WWX as the devil incarnate. As JL was only a little baby at the time, JC might have exacted revenge for him by proxy after leading the siege at the burial mounds - so does that count? Granted, JC didn't kill WWX - but he did die during the siege.

Eventually, JL does attempt (albeit, perhaps halfheartedly) to exact revenge on WWX, once his identity is publicly revealed. Once he knows MXY is definitely WWX, he subsequently stabs him. Thankfully WWX lives and it seems JL is actually relieved about that!

In the end JL focuses all his hatred and blame on WN - because he's gotten to know WWX and has realised he's not this awful person people say. After all, WWX has saved him and others a number of times now. It's JLs own choice to let the past stay in the past in the end. WN offers JL the opportunity to take his frustration out on him, while they're sailing towards Lotus Pier near the end of the novel - but he doesn't. JL later witnesses WN being punched straight through the heart, just like WN did to his father all those years ago. This all happened while WN was trying to protect JC and JL from the incredibly ripped fierce corps that is NMJ. I think JL does indeed have some of his mother's good traits after all. In the end he lets all this hatred go and moves on. So I guess he doesn't technically fulfil his duty according to the 'Four Great Grudges' - but you know what, I don't think either of his parents would want him to anyway. Yes, even JZX!

Finally, onto LSZ!

I don't think LSZ would take revenge on people for what happened to his clan to be honest. He has the same core values of both WWX and LWJ, because of the way he was brought up. Yes, WWX took revenge back when he escaped the burial mounds, but WWX was not in the right frame of mind at that point in time. He was utterly traumatised and his mental state was incomprehensible. But WWX doesn't take revenge in his second life. He lets the past stay in the past, moving on to have the happily ever after he deserves, with LWJ. He knows full well, no good will come from revenge in the end.

If LSZ was going to take revenge, who would he take it out on? The whole cultivation world participated in the siege that killed his family. Including to a lesser extent, the Lan clan. His deceased relatives even resurrected to help WWX and everyone fighting against the corpses during the second siege. Just like WWX, the Wen remnants saved people who had been there during the first siege, as well as their descendants. People who might have contributed to their deaths. Yet they helped save them. I think even if A-Yuan wanted to seek retribution, this would be going directly against not only his dead relatives wishes and sacrifice - but everything WWX and LWJ have attempted to protect him from. LWJ went to great lengths to cover up LSZs connection to the Wen sect, even giving him the Lan last name - all in order to keep him safe. LSZ would never disregard what either of them have done for him, even if he wanted revenge. At least I don't think so!

.

As for the 'statue of limitations', obviously I'm not sure what the laws and such are in MDZS - but from the fact people are still after revenge on WWX some 13 years later, I'd say there probably isn't any statue of limitations! So I guess it's just a free-for-all!

As one of the cultivators at the second siege said:

"...With the works of karma, it’s never too late for revenge!”....

Chapter 68

It seems to be the general consensus for revenge!

*Your side note on JC's name. Others do use his courtesy name; such as JGY, JGS and LWJ. We don't tend to hear him interact with others that often and when we do it's usually as "Sect Leader Jiang" or something similar. Other than family or friends, when he is directly called by his birth name, this is out of disrespect from people he has usually angered (cultivators on Dafan Mountain and so on). Obviously WWX uses his birth name out of familiarity, as he does with LWJ. But apart from that, people use his courtesy name or honorifics ☺️

Hope you have a lovely day Anon! And thank you again for the ask 🤗

[jaggededges123]

☔

yes, absolutely! there are... so many XD i'll put this under a cut just in case it gets long! i wish i could ask you which ships you were interested in, because i have so many that it's hard to narrow them down, but i will assume you enjoy niecest as one of my followers and go with one of those!

i present to you, a basic skeleton of my beauty and the beast au (niecest version).

it's nsfw, but mostly just in the abstract, i'm not going to be getting into the nitty gritty today.

so, basically, nmj was cursed (by jgs) when nhs was just a child, so the two don't know what each other looks like--or at least, nhs doesn't know what nmj looks like, not anymore. when this happened, nmj was presumed dead, the nie territory became overgrown and so dangerous that no one goes there. nhs was sent away to the lans to protect him at the last minute, so he grew up under their care. nhs is technically the heir to all of that land, but he can't take control of it until he comes of age.

jgs plans to marry jgy off to nhs so that he himself can benefit from all of that land. jgy resents this because he thinks nhs is pretty but also extremely frivolous, but also he does appreciate the kind of status he'll gain if he marries nhs. they basically have a pretty standard courtship, except nhs feels like they aren't connecting properly so instead, he begs lwj to go and see if the land is still cursed, if nhs can just take the unclean realm without going through with the marriage.

lwj goes to the overgrown and cursed lands, but when he doesn't come back (lxc is somewhere else idk) nhs has to take responsibility for sending him there in the first place and goes after him. it's his ancestral home, and having grown so close to both lwj and lxc over the years he wouldn't be able to bear lwj's death being his fault. so he goes.

he finds himself in dense forest, and before long there are many yao surrounding him. they're weak, but he's weaker, and he fears that he might die before he even reaches his ancestral home, but then he sees the remains of an old stone fortress. he flees in that direction, and is able to escape into it.

when he enters the fortress, it's warm; there's a fire in the hearth and a comfortable place to sit. and nhs is exhausted from his travels, so he takes a seat for a long time, even dozing off...

and then, without any warning, a massive and angry beast interrupts his calm rest, snarling at him. nhs is afraid that it's a yao from the forest come to kill him, but it very quickly becomes apparent that that's not the case. he thinks instead, it is some sort of creature which has come to inhabit the unclean realm when there was no one living in it--and this beast claims to own this place, so nhs decides (in fear) not to tell him that this is his home.

somehow, the beast shows nhs the dungeons, and lwj is there, locked up. he's so remorseful that nhs had to come looking for him, and encourages nhs to run back to gusu and leave him, because it's his own fault for getting caught.

the beast, seeing nhs's displeasure with this, offers to let lwj go, on one condition--nhs stays. and of course nhs agrees, even though he's afraid. at least if he's here, he doesn't have to get married... besides, he'd never be able to face xichen-ge again if he left lwj behind.

(meanwhile, nmj hopes that his "love can break the spell" curse can be broken platonically, to turn him back into a "loveable" form. he also recognizes that nhs must be his brother, but how could he tell nhs that this monster is what he's become? there's no way.)

queue nmj trying desperately to reconnect with his didi, but... his anger issues get in the way sometimes, and nhs's temper flares in response, because he won't be treated like this, even if he's a prisoner.

so nmj tries, he tries really hard. he has to re-learn how to be gentle, how to not just lash out constantly. what happened to him was unfair, but equally unfair would be to unload it all on nhs. sweet, precious nhs, grown up so pretty...

it's with horror that nmj realizes that he's falling in love with nhs, without being able to stop it, and equal amounts of horror again when he sees that nhs is falling in love with him back. he can see it, in the way nhs's smile is so bright when nmj finally gets a bird to rest on his talons, the way nhs looks straight to him for his own reaction.

things progress, and nmj feels like the spell should have been broken by now--he can see that nhs loves him. but it hasn't happened yet, and one night when they're dancing around, just having fun with each other... one thing leads to another and then they hit nhs's back before he knew it. nhs is small and vulnerable under his claws, and looking at nmj with such huge "fuck me" eyes... nmj can't resist.

nmj gifts nhs an aviary at some point, a bit dilapidated from years of disuse, but together they put it back in good order, and nmj finds himself falling a little more in love with nhs with the way he looks at each new addition. but still, still the curse isn't broken.

is this not true love, nmj thinks? he's afraid, if this isn't it. his time is running out.

one night, nhs is poking around the unclean realm, cleaning up a bit, and he finds both a painting of their family, carefully kept and cleaned regularly, and the signifier of how much time nmj has left (still haven't figured out what that's supposed to be, a rose feels wrong but idk what to replace it with). and nmj finds nhs there and feels a spark of anger that nhs would go snooping, but nhs just asks without delay--

"are you my da-ge?"

and nmj can't keep the truth from nhs any longer, no matter how painful it might be. he admits to it, puffing his chest out in a desperate attempt at bravado, ready for nhs to be disgusted and furious and to leave him behind forever, to die. but then, he feels arms around that puffed-up chest, hugging him tight. there's a face in the crook of his neck, lips breathing out, "you're alive. da-ge, i missed you so much."

and it's that moment, when nhs knows who nmj is and loves him for it, that nmj's curse is broken--or, partially. he feels something coursing under his skin and he sees the curse object shatter into light, and he floats into the air--except, when his feet hit the ground they're still oversized, with claws at the end. he's still extremely hairy, extremely dangerous.

"why?" he asks the air, only tangentially toward his brother who loves him. "i was supposed to become loveable--"

"da-ge, you're more than loveable just like this," nhs soothes him, still clinging to him. "this is just how i love you."

anyway they get to keep fucking with nmj as a massive hairy beast (and you better believe he's got a knot) and they get to live together forever the end. <3

"skeleton of an outline" my ass, i do this every fucking time XD i hope you appreciate my effort, anon lmao

[llycaons]

ep24 (pt 2): wwx and lxc best brothers in law and I stand by it

I was worried this ep would be boring but it has not one, not two, but THREE great character-driven conversations, and this first one coming up that's one of my favorites scenes in the whole show. it's time for LAN XICHEN'S INTERVENTION TALK

people call this a shovel talk, and that annoys me because 1. they are way more popular in fanfic than I think they are in real life and 2. he's not threatening wwx, he's reminding him that people care about him and try to keep that into account and whatever is going on it's bad for you and we can HELP you!. it's not quite an intervention, and it's undertaken as much for lwj's sake as wwx's, but it's close. and I believe that lxc is fond of wwx. he likes him!

wwx taking liberties with the actual sect leader is really funny esp since lxc is so polite about it and wwx is like super embarassed immediately after. he doesn't overreact like lwj, so wwx is properly chastened

famous foreshadowing line

YES YOU DO??!!!! this is coming immediately after jc's scene lamenting that wwx isn't there to help lmao

very funny of him. he's like 'oh hehe I'll come to him if he can't come here! visiting my friend who's copying texts and just watching him will be super fun!' boy you are so far gone you're happy at the idea of just sitting there watching him write...

the double meaning here really slams you in the chest. I can see why people consider it a shovel talk but it's really not! he just wants wwx to understand people (lwj) care about him and are trying to help him

it feels like this is THE most direct acknowledgement of what wwx and lwj have going on, at least as of yet

he is but. buddy. buddy

oh and this short argument is enthralling. ALL their issues piling up

jc pushes wwx down expecting him to be able to defend himself, and when he can't he's confused and blames him...and the kicker is, when he actually goes to try to help him, wwx tells him to stay away. another microcosm of their relationship...

wwx is being super frustrating but jc really can't wrap his head around not knowing something huh. he just can't accept a change without understanding why it happened

this scene is sooo sad...jyl crying in the shrine, wonderinf ig wwx will leave them, wwx reassuring her of course not, where would I go? but that's not really an answer, is it? I don't think wwx wants to leave LP, or ever truly wanted to, but he can have conflicting feelings about his home as a site of great trauma for him, a place he no longer feels he can contribute to, and a place where he faces verbal attacks daily. after jyl left, it was really not a healthy environment for him...

you wound me!

he is her little boy...she will forgive him anything *flashes forward* well almost anything

probably for the best

from wwx pov it was as if a large purple savior descended from the clouds with the most delicious food he'd ever eaten in his life and offered him a permanent home. of course he's attached

...given how trusting he was of strangers giving him food, it's a good thing nothing else bad happened to him. well, maybe he had good intuition even back then for people he shouldn't trust. he's been a really good judge of people overall excepting his initial judgement of lwj, and of jgy

[jayktoralldaylong]

I want to talk about this scene. The banquet of the Jins, some time after the Sun Shot campaign.

The Wens have been defeated, the Cultivating world is picking up its pieces. The Jins are trying to set themselves up as the head of the cultivating world. They have the power and the wealth, and they're also using underground means to get their hands on demonic Cultivation so they're basically establishing themselves as the new Wens.

During the banquet, Jin Zixun comes over to the twin Jades of Lan, and offers them a cup of alcohol. Every cultivator who has trained in Gusu (which is basically everyone) is well aware that the Lans do not drink. They. Know. This. Jin Zixun strolls over to precisely where they are seated and asks them to drink in public.

Jin Guangyao tries to mediate the issue, letting Jin Zixun know that his demands are absurd, but then Jin Zixun retorts that they've formed an alliance with the Lans which is true. The Lans were heavily damaged during the war, along with the Jiangs. Their strong connection with the Jins is helping them scale through rebuilding. To do anything to fracture that friendship would put the Lan clan in an unfortunate position. Yet what Zixun is asking of them is just plain wrong. It's almost bullying. Drinking is not only against their rules but they can't handle alcohol.

I like this little moment when Zixun says it's an ultimatum and Lan Xichen turns to Wangji for a second. Wangji's eyes like "Brother, don't you dare touch that filthy cup." XD.

Now, let's talk about everyone else during this scene because this is a very public confrontation and all their 'friends' are there. Everyone is very present and this is what they are doing. They are, to put it in a nice way, amused. They are amused by how hard the twin Jades are having it.

I mean, I get it, they are not trying to be jerks on purpose and probably assume that the Jades are making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, it's just one cup of alcohol and they themselves can stomach plenty. Except that it IS a very big deal. They can't drink and they can't hold their liquor. One cup is way too much for them. Even if they didn't know this, anyone should know that forcing people to drink in social situations is wrong! (But who am I kidding, plenty of nondrinkers still get pressured into drinking even in today's world).

I'm also going to point out that Jin Guangyao is somehow the only one truly begging for Lan Xichen's sake. He's visibly distressed. Nie Mingjue is visibly distressed as well but he's doing nothing.

So, true to his peacekeeper people-pleaaser nature, Lan Xichen bends his morals to accept the cup. He figures he can handle one cup, its what a good clan leader should do right? There's no need to make a fuss about something like this. If this small gesture will help the clan then why shouldn't I make this small sacrifice (sacrificed so much of life already so why not one more).

Now, Lan Wangji is mad. He wasn't pissed before, he could ignore their barbaric behaviour, but now it's personal. We can all tell by Lan Wangji's reaction that he's a little disappointed that Lan Xichen was forced to succumb to peer pressure. He's a little upset with his brother but he's more upset with the fact that it's okay to sit and watch this happen. No one is going to fight for them. If the world wills them to drink they just drink whether or not they want to. So now he's thinking "I'm not going to stand for that."

This small moment where Lan Xichen shakes his head clearly telling Jin Guangyao not to worry about him. 🥺

Jin Zixun dares to bring that disgusting cup his way and Lan Wangji gives him the look. This exact look says everything. It says "I'm not taking that cup." It's his own little way of fighting for justice. Jin Zixun's hands will break before his fingers so much as graze that cup he's holding.

We see Lan Xichen panic a little cause he knows his brother better than anyone and Wangji has got his stubborn face on. He is not touching that cup. He's stuck in a very awkward position because he could take the other cup for his brother, but just because he survived one cup doesn't mean hell survive two. To make things worse, one cup is exactly Lan Wangji's limit, and once again, no one is moving to help them.......

......until (●♡∀♡).

The look of love on Lan Zhan's face.

Wei Wuxian really waltzed in there already ready to start some shit, just to find the Cultivating world picking on his boyfriend and his brother-in-law. No way he was having that.

[robininthelabyrinth]

3. In The Untamed, for some reason the Jiang trio don't speak up or look for Wen Qing & Wen Ning when all the fighting is over. I'm hoping there was some kind of good reason for that, but it bothers me. Particularly since they wrote in all that romance subplot for Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing. But anyway, none of them spoke up before WWX literally ran into Wen Qing. But you know who else was on Dafan Mountan with the scary statue and the local Wens turned it puppets?  Who also saw Wen Qing try to protect them and spent time inside WWX's string talisman cage thing with her?

Nie Huaisang. He also knows that there were some Wen being held hostage by Wen Chao to force Wen Qing's obedience. Heck, Wen Qing and/or Wen Ning could plausibly have been the ones to care for him when NHS fainted at the indoctrination camp. What if he had told all this to his brother? Either during the war or as soon as he showed up in the Nightless City for the Very Awkward Victory Dinner.

Emotional Support - ao3

“It’s done,” Nie Mingjue said, and promptly collapsed face-first on Nie Huaisang’s bed.

Nie Huaisang patted him on the back of the head.

“There, there,” he said. “The mean politicians won’t hurt you anymore.”

His brother mumbled something into the sheets that sounded suspiciously like Wanna bet?

“Today,” Nie Huaisang revised. “They won’t hurt you any more today. Tomorrow is a new day.”

His brother groaned.

Clearly it had been an especially awful day, and someone was in need of some attention.

“So what did you end up deciding?” Nie Huaisang asked. He even put aside the book he’d been reading, which was a huge sacrifice on his part. But in fairness, his brother hadn’t acted immature in his presence for years and years by now, not since they were little kids, and he had just won a war and avenged their father; a little sacrifice on Nie Huaisang’s part seemed to be reasonable.

“Jin Guangshan’s going to be throwing a party,” Nie Mingjue said at once, and Nie Huaisang had to hide a smile – of course that would be the most traumatic part of it for his brother, who hated parties and hated politics and (in all honesty) hated most people. He didn’t have any ear for music or an eye for dance, so he couldn’t even enjoy the entertainment, and the Jin sect tended to, as his brother put it, “cook their food beyond recognition.”

“I could get horribly sick right before?” Nie Huaisang offered.

“No, it’s to celebrate the end of the war. We have to attend. Inauspicious not to.”

“Ah, I see, I see. My sympathies.”

“You have to attend, too.”

“Yes, but I’ll actually enjoy it, I like parties and socializing,” Nie Huaisang pointed out, mercilessly, and his brother groaned again. “Anyway, tell me something good instead. What did you end up doing with – ”

He cast around for a subject. It was hard, given that he didn’t care much about politics, and there were so many ‘things that could not be spoken of’! He couldn’t ask about Lan Xichen, because he’d been proposing a sworn brotherhood with Meng Yao and his brother didn’t want to think about that (though he’d probably give in eventually given how much he’d always liked Meng Yao before it had all gone wrong up somehow), he definitely couldn’t ask about Meng Yao for obvious reasons, his brother wouldn’t care or even know about the forever ongoing Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli drama, the Jiang sect was also a no-go subject (his brother had literally done everything in his power to warn them of a possible attack short of moving personally to the Lotus Pier to try to defend them, and yet he still felt bad about what had happened), Wei Wuxian had turned into a possibly insane demonic cultivator and everything about him had become incredibly awkward…

Wow, he was running out of Great Sects to pick from.

“ – the leftover people from the Wen sect?” Nie Huaisang finally settled on.

Mostly out of lack of anything better.

It was pretty weak. His brother even turned around and cracked open an eye to give him a judgmental look, which was pretty well deserved.

Still, there wasn’t anything else to talk about, so Nie Huaisang gave his brother an expectant look until he gave in, as he usually did.

“They’ll be resettled somewhere,” Nie Mingjue begrudgingly said. “Xichen’s idea, giving them mercy, and everyone agreed – even Jin Guangshan. They’ll be given good farmland, a place to live peacefully, albeit with a guard, at least at first. The Jin sect promised to take care of it. Suppose they figured they might as well contribute something to the war effort…”

More likely they thought that throwing around their money now would be enticing to all those sects that needed money for rebuilding, Nie Huaisang thought cynically, which was all of them. His own included!

They were short on everything now, thanks to the war. His own spending budget was practically inviolable – the one time he’d tried to cut back voluntarily, half the sect had emptied out their own pockets to slip spending money into his room and he was still finding random strings of coins in weird places – but for just about everything else, they needed to scrimp and save up the money to pay. There were building repairs, which meant both supplies and workers; more disciples, which meant more weapons, more clothing, more food; more staff and civilian support, which meant even more food, and of course as non-cultivators they also got sick more easily, which also meant more doctors…

Hmm, actually, that reminded Nie Huaisang.

“Farmland, you say?” he asked, propping up his chin on his hand. “What about the ones that aren’t farmers?”

“The ones – you mean the Wen sect?” His brother rolled onto his side. “Who cares if they weren’t originally farmers? What do you expect them to do, continue being soldiers?”

“Not soldiers,” Nie Huaisang said, rolling his eyes. “But the ones who had other professions! There was that girl who came to the Cloud Recesses at the same time as Jiang-xiong and Wei-xiong, what’s her name, Wen Qing. She’s one of the ones from Dafan.”

“I’m familiar with Wen Ruohan’s niece,” Nie Mingjue said dryly. “Her medical skills were reputedly the only thing that kept that madman going after he poisoned himself with Yin Metal.”

“Oh, that.He was probably threatening her family.” Nie Huaisang shrugged when his brother stared at him. “She had a cute little brother, a stutterer, nearly as much of a good-for-nothing as me, plus a bunch of people back in Dafan…don’t you remember, I told you, the thing with the statute?”

“That time you went into Wen territory on your way home from the Cloud Recesses? Yes, it rings a bell.”

“Not the point,” Nie Huaisang protested. “The point is, we know she’s a good doctor, right? A doctor and a young lady, which means she’ll probably be shit at farming…and we could use more doctors that won’t turn their nose up at treating non-cultivators.”

“Are you suggesting that we bring people surnamed Wen here?”

“Why not? Wen Ruohan’s dead, and he’s the one we really hated. Anyway, it’s not as if the Jin are going to complain if we poach a few of the Wen for our own purposes, right? That’s just less farmland they have to pay for.”

“…we don’t even know if Wen Qing is even with the Jin sect,” his brother argued, but it was weak and they both knew it. “They didn’t catch everyone, you know, it’s only the prisoners of war. Some of them might still be loose. Or she could have died, or something…”

“The point is still a good one,” Nie Huaisang said virtuously, enjoying being the one in the right for once. “To the extent that any of the ones that were captured by the Jin sect aren’t suited for farming or have other professional skills, we can pick a few of the best and bring them back here. As long as we only bring back a few, they’ll be vastly outnumbered and won’t dare to make trouble…you know, maybe that’s the reason the Jin sect decided to volunteer? Getting first call on picking out the more talented Wen to recruit seems like something they’d do, more than actually contributing to the war.”

Nie Mingjue groaned a third time, which was probably a concession.

Nie Huaisang decided to play his trump card.

“Anyway, if the Jin are angry about us doing a bit of poaching, they might get so huffy that they’d cancel their horrible victory feast…”

“We should be so lucky,” Nie Mingjue grumbled. “No, don’t promise me fantasies, there’s no way they’re cancelling that. But we can go look for Wen Qing anyway.”

“And Wen Ning! That’s the brother I mentioned, the cute one.”

“…that’s the second time you’ve said he was cute, Huaisang.”

“Well, he is,” Nie Huaisang said. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

“I’m getting at the fact that your argument hinges on us only taking those that have useful skills, and it doesn’t sound like he has any useful skills.”

Nie Huaisang thought about it, but the only skill he’d ever seen or heard of Wen Ning displaying was that one time Wei Wuxian had claimed without any backup he was good at archery, but obviously that wouldn’t help his argument at all. Not that he was going to let that get in the way of an argument with his brother, of course.

“His skill is the fact that he’s cute,” he proclaimed. “His presence is very comforting!”

“…are you suggesting that you want him around for emotional support?”

“He’s my emotional support Wen,” Nie Huaisang said, and managed to hold out for exactly two heartbeats before descending into cackling. “Oh, that’s terrible, even for me.”

“It really is,” Nie Mingjue agreed. He’d hidden his face back in the bed but he sounded like he was smiling. “All right, you win, have it your way the way you always do. We’ll go check out the Qiongqi Path in another half-month or so.”

“Another half-month? Why not now?”

“I’m busy. Lan Xichen…anyway, I’m busy. Maybe we can time it to be just before that awful party.”

“So that Jin Guangshan will be too busy complaining about that to do anything else? I see the logic.” Nie Huaisang carefully didn’t mention what was probably going to be a sworn brotherhood ceremony his brother didn’t especially want to engage in. He still didn’t know what had happened that had made his brother so angry at Meng Yao, but it’d only gotten worse as of late, as had his brother’s paranoia about not letting Nie Huaisang anywhere near Meng Yao. “Of course, that might mean he’d try to talk to you throughout the party…if you want, I can go by myself to check out the last few Wen sect. While you’re busy.”

As expected, his brother looked relieved at the suggestion. There really wasn’t any justifiable reason for him to keep Nie Huaisang, as a blood relation, from attending a fancy sworn brotherhood ceremony, but if Nie Huaisang did what he usually did and ‘wandered away’ on his own business right beforehand, unable to be found, well, that was all on empty-headed Nie Huaisang’s own head, wasn’t it?

And after, once the oaths were sworn, his brother would feel more comfortable about allowing Meng Yao to interact with Nie Huaisang again.

“Yes, I like that idea,” Nie Huaisang said amiably. It was the least he could do. “I’ll head out tomorrow or the day after – I’ll take a few others with me, don’t give me that look! I wasn’t planning on going by myself!”

“Uh-huh,” his brother said skeptically. “Remind me again about when you spent time with Wen Qing? Something about encountering a goddess statute when it was just you, Lan Wangji, and Wei Wuxian..?”

“And Jiang Cheng!”

“Huaisang…”

“In fact, maybe I’ll ask one of them if they want to come with me,” Nie Huaisang said haughtily. “It’ll be just like old times!”

“Huaisang, leave them alone. Don’t they have to rebuild their own sects?”

“All the more reason for them to come with me,” Nie Huaisang argued. “They need spare manpower as much as we do, don’t they? More, in Jiang Cheng’s case!”

“Jiang Wanyin will be preparing for Jin Guangshan’s party, same as me.”

“Sure, but Wei Wuxian won’t be. He’s worse at parties than you are, da-ge, and that’s saying something.”

“You are not allowed to go by yourself with Wei Wuxian,” Nie Mingjue said, and his voice had a tone of finality. “It’s not the way it used to be, with him being a talented young master. We don’t yet know what effects that demonic cultivation of his will have on him – and the Yin Tiger Seal, too…”

“Fine. Then I’ll get Lan Wangji to come with us,” Nie Huaisang said. “He’s not the heir either, and it’d be more convenient if none of us younger brothers were at that thing you are going to be busy with, right? You can’t seriously be worried that Wei Wuxian will try something if Lan Wangji’s on his back all the time.”

“They’re friends, aren’t they? Would you really say that it’s being ‘on his back’?”

“Uh, yes. You’ve met Lan Wangji! The more he likes you, the more he quotes rules at you! If he dislikes you, he’ll just ignore you!”

Nie Mingjue was forced into a chuckle. “Yes, well, I suppose you have a point…take some Nie disciples with you as well, all right? Just in case.”

“Fine, fine, ruin my fun! We’ll take a complete caravan, it’ll be a complete circus, but at least we’ll be safe and secure and ready to fight in the event we should be menaced by, I don’t know, a small army or something.”

His brother was actually laughing now.

Much better.

Nie Huaisang smiled and picked up his book again. He’d go find Wei Wuxian tomorrow, he thought to himself, contented, and Lan Wangji as well – the latter would agree as soon as he knew the former was coming, he was sure. Jiang Cheng would probably be happy to see them get out of his way while he was trying to negotiate tricky political waters, and it wasn’t as if they were actually going to end up causing any serious trouble, after all.  

They were going to be visiting a farm. How much political trouble could they find there?