#jiujiu said no

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

The Untamed/MDZS but it's things that my Father has said

Part 2 // my mother's version

[demonicfarmer69]

Q: can jin ling give his jiujiu a hug from me? he deserves it 

🍋: i'll give jiujiu all the hugs he needs, so dont be sad, jiujiu 💔

[jingyi-ma-boi]

Fml the way that op said this when they’re not even in the fandom purely bc people spammed the tags dragging Jiang Cheng… I’m on the floor

you can always tell when a ship exists solely because they were the only two remaining characters left and the ship always sucks

[thekansta]

learning

(jiujiu said a-ling is still too little but a-ling reallyyyyyy wanted to try 🥺)

[qiu-yan]

shenshen = qin su

[incorrectly-quoting-mxtx]

Jiang Cheng: I said you could invite one friend.

Jin Ling: Jiujiu, they don’t come separately.

Lan Jingyi: Yeah, we’re pack animals!

[whumpbby]

One day during a night hunt shared between Gusu and Yunmeng, Wei Wuxian observes Sect Leader Jiang fall from his sword in a dive after one of the young disciples, catch the boy, on the way down score two branches to the shoulder and stop the fall via wrapping Zidian around one of them. They land unharmed and the disciple meekly accepts the threats of leg-breaking as he's patted down by Jiang-zongzhu.

Wei Wuxian almost passed on the spot, but he's trying to act tough and unimpressed, so he's all "Heh, nice save, hehe."

And a Jiang disciple from the side goes "Oh that's nothing. Not even close to back when young master Jin was learning to fly."

Another disciple "And that's nothing compared to when he was learning to swim!"

Another "Or walk."

Another "Or the swing."

"Gods, don't even mention the fucking swing!"

And Wei Wuxian ends up surrounded by Jiang disciples who do an equivalent of pulling out their wallets to show him the photos xD

Ok, but listen.

Jiang Cheng, in nothing but his inner robes, gunning it barefoot down the walkaways of Lotus Pier, because his beloved nephew (age four) decided to escape his bed and climb into an unsecured boat that is now being pushed by wind into the lake, much to Jin Ling's wailing dismay.

JC didn't even think to use Sandu, just launched himself full-tilt from the end of the pier with sheer physical brass of knowing he can eat that twenty metres...

A few minutes later, he was rowing the boat back with one arm, the other full of a wailing nephew, adrenaline finally settling down.

[cutestrawberryshark]

Jiang cheng would 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 hit Jin ling. he's all he has left! His sister's only son. his threats are empty and JL knows it. jin guangyao even said that Jc is the one spoiling Jl so much.

Jgy would never let Jc near Jin ling if he actually was abusive. also why would JL want to be with his jiujiu if his jiujiu was abusive toward him?? he doesn't have to see him. He could easily cut all ties with him if he was truly abusive. He's the Jin heir not the Jiang's.

Jin ling love both his Jiujiu and his shushu.

Jiang cheng is the best Jiujiu. Argue with the wall.

[mxtxfanatic]

Just for the record, I actually don’t hate any mdzs character. Mxtx’s stories are so well-crafted that I love the roles that every character plays. I love the chills and digust that Jin Guangyao inspires in me. I loved the hatred that Xue Yang causes to flare up in me when I reread the Yi City arc. I love the amusement I get every time Jiang Cheng lives up to his failed-hero role, doubly so when I remember that he is also a failed-villain because Xue Yang is actually the better version of him lmao. I love dissecting Nie Mingjue’s hypocrisy in what it means when Wei Wuxian thinks of him as an “upholder of morality.” I love the pity that I feel for Lan Xichen such that I struggle to commit to how I view him just like how he struggles with how to view those he loves. And the complexity and diversity of each character’s life experiences and autonomous choices is the icing on the cake that makes fans’ (me included) obsessions over them wholly understandable.

What I hate is feeling coerced into liking a character how fandom wants me to like them, especially if the “evidence” supporting liking said character is just popular fanon that the fandom has taken as gospel truth. The more I feel pressured into ignoring a character’s canon personality to adopt a fanfic version of them whose only similarity is that they share a name, the harsher I want to be with my critique of them. Don’t give me morally righteous!Nie Mingjue who totally would’ve defended the Wen and I won’t give you hypocrite!Nie Mingjue who deserved to be cut into pieces, just not by the person who did it. Don’t give me best brother, best jiujiu!Jiang Cheng and I won’t give you pathetic manbaby!Jiang Cheng who deserved to have Wei Wuxian’s golden core removed from him the hard way for his ungratefulness and for his sister to come back to life to bitch slap him for how he treats her son. Don’t give me best bro wangxian shipper!Lan Xichen and I won’t give you morally weak!Lan Xichen who deserved every bit of the psychological torture Nie Huaisang put him through for his inability to truly stand by any of his brothers, biological or sworn.

Don’t give me some “everyone is secretly good with no flaws” bullshit and I won’t feel the need to balance it out by listing every single one of their sins and nailing it to the door like Martin Luther. I like these characters. Don’t turn me into a hater, cause if you think I’m mean now? Lol

[twilightarc-gm]

Why do you like jiang cheng?

At the risk of liking him for the wrong reasons, let me be verbose and annoying about it.

A short anecdote: I finished the donghua before the novel and I liked JC's aesthetic so I was happy to have that imagery in my head for the novel, but mostly I came out of the donghua like "cool story, the ending was frowny face though" and I came out of the novel like I was lost in the IKEA store "there's stuff here but it's not what I want and it's organized in a way that's hard to navigate through." Bit like giving me a puzzle to solve.

Anyway, imagine a cat bapping at a thing trying to get fandom to show me what to do with MDZS (i.e. reading fanfic) and then I come across anti-Jiang Cheng stuff.

//record scratch

I'm sorry what?

Why?

NO.

I started then on Shuangjie reconciliation fic and quickly evolved into Jiang Cheng "Apologist" ((I actually don't think he has anything to apologize for even if he would do so anyway.))

I've been in the xianxia/wuxia sphere of media consumption for a year or so before trying out MDZS and JC just fits so well as the main character of his own story; destined for a position of power through birth, friends with someone in his life that causes conflict, seemingly betrayed by said friend when needing that friend the most, losing and losing and losing as his trust in said friend proves unfounded because the friend walks a path he can't follow, and then he's left with the tragedy that befell the world because--ultimately he trusted this friend too much.

It's a classic story of love and attachment and how good intentions can have massive consequences. Two men entwined by fate and in the end there's a battle on a hill (off screen in this case) where one is forced to "kill" the other.

MDZS could have ended with the past timeline, and I would have liked it more but at least in the present timeline we get Jiujiu and a-Ling.

Anyway: Excerpts and Commentary Below about WHY I LOVE JIANG CHENG, courtesy WANYIN

Of all the clans to offend, you don’t offend the Jiang Clan, and of all the people to offend, you never offend Jiang Cheng.

We stand by a badass mf in this house. The first thing we learn is that he gets credit for killing a big baddy and the second thing we learn is how fierce the rest of his reputation is. He brooks no shit and leaves no quarter. Amazing 💜

Well, I was done for at "gaze like two streaks of cold lightning" so RIP me, I guess. Reminds me of some antis that are like "you only like him because he's hot" which isn't true but it is a nice plus. He's described as inferior to LWJ so like, if it was only about hotness then wouldn't I like LWJ???

“I am his uncle. Do you have any last words?”

At the sound of that voice, every drop of blood in Wei Wuxian’s body seemed to surge to his head but then immediately drained away again. Thankfully, his face was already a mess of ghastly white, so it didn’t look strange when he went a little paler.

A man in purple attire strode over. He was dressed in a narrow-sleeved light robe, with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. A silver bell dangled from his waist, yet there was no sound when he walked.

This young man had fine brows and almond eyes, with a chiseled handsomeness to his features. His eyes were deep and intense with a hint of aggression, his gaze like two streaks of cold lightning. He stopped and stood three meters away from Wei Wuxian. His expression was like that of a nocked arrow on a bow, ready to shoot, and even his composure was suffused with arrogant pride.

Jiang Cheng ruled the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng alone, so it could have been said that he was in a state of isolation.

🥺 Alone?? And he could still afford 400 Immortal Binding Nets? Self-sufficient king 🤩 And like, his reputation is so fierce and he's boiling over with anger in that scene, but still he restrains himself because he did the cost-benefit analysis! And then later he takes a huge risk on WWX, like he always does for WWX, and that doesn't work out for him--like it always does.

Seeing that nothing had happened to Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng was greatly relieved. However, that relief soon turned into a furious reprimand:

Parent behavior. Enough said.

He has a twisted smile when encountering a trigger for his PTSD and then he decides to fight it instead of letting it paralyze him. He's such a doer. Like, every other moment of the day he's carefully calculating pluses and minuses to every choice (valid) but when it comes to facing his personal demons he's ready to throw down. Excellent.

A moment later, Jiang Cheng’s lips pulled into a twisted smile. His left hand subconsciously began stroking that ring once more.

He said softly, “Excellent. Back, are you?”

He let go of his left hand, and a long whip dangled from it.

“Oh? Then please enlighten me, what is your type?”

Walking A-Spec flag very concerned about what the man who might be his shixiong thinks about him, more at eleven!

Wei Wuxian waved him off and then hooked his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders. “Who cares? I’ll tease him a bit more before I go. You’ve already collected my corpse so many times. Once more won’t hurt.”

Okay but big lol that JC doesn't get to collect WWX's corpse that final time. //sounds of sobbing

A smile appeared on his face, but then he immediately humphed.

He's so grumpy and adorable! I love him! pre massacre JC is precious and I just want him to have someone to bring out that smile again.

He literally didn't have to do this. He makes all these excuses how he'll be embarrassed if WWX is rolling around 😂 Perfection. Boy, you are still carrying him and he doesn't want you to stop.

Jiang Cheng, walk slower, you’re gonna throw me off.”

Not only did Jiang Cheng want to throw Wei Wuxian off, but he practically wanted to bash his head into the ground to create a human crater. “So fussy even though I’m carrying you!”

“I didn’t tell you to carry me,” Wei Wuxian reasoned.

Jiang Cheng flew into a rage. “If I didn’t carry you, I think you’d hang out at their ancestral hall all day, rolling around on the floor. I can’t afford this embarrassment! Lan Wangji took fifty more strikes than you, but he walked away on his own, and you’re not embarrassed, pretending to be an invalid? I don’t want to carry you anymore. Get the hell off!”

“No, I’m wounded,” Wei Wuxian said.

Alrighty, like I'm just going through the entire book at this point.

Let me see if I can make this more concise:

Sacrifices himself despite his very dutiful nature that would oppose this. He throws away all his responsibilities for WWX, again and again, carrying on a tradition of favoring WWX over his own health and happiness. Citing: JFM favoring WWX to the detriment of his marriage, JYL dying to save WWX, and JC (exhausted and with little or no power) running into danger to save WWX ala distracting the Wen patrol and 2nd Siege.

Can't be honest in his affections and makes up excuses to do nice things for others.

Loves and understands his sister. She wanted JZX so he made it happen when LLJ had absolutely no reason to reinstate the marriage contract between Xuanli. JGS notes in the CR arc that he didn't want the marriage for his son in the first place and that there were better options than YMJ, and that was before the war! JC helped her get to Yiling to show off her wedding dress! Even though she married out he still felt so attached to her son he couldn't not co-parent Jin Ling.

Yes, he has Zidian, but he also has a second horsewhip that he keeps on him which is very exciting to know.

The narrative hates him but he survives. (He survives because the narrative hates him).

Most BAMF entrance in the novel at the temple scene with the busting the temple doors down and coming in from the rain with an umbrella. Like sure the narrative hates him but small blessings that rule of cool still counts for something.

Mama's boy.

Just some dude, shows up late to treasury room nonsense, knows all the gossip, no one has faith in him including himself, but he keeps going and doing what needs to be done even when he's so so tired and his shixiong shows up 3 months late with a ghoul lady and a latte, or disappears to liberate slave property without warning first and now he's called into a midnight meeting after trying to get some much needed rest and now he's got consequences to deal with. Someone help him!

An expert at sneering. Threats as a show of worry and care. This makes all the little and brief smiles so much more endearing.

Sandu Shengshou is an amazing title, get out of here if you don't agree. Holy Hand of the Three Poisons? Brutal, perfect 💜 It gets used like, ONCE. Crime against me personally.

Link to Blorbo Sheet for JC

He loves, he hates, he wants to hate he's not allowed to love. Zero middle ground, he's all in and there's no way out.

//is shot and dragged off stage

But just as the Wei Wuxian of the past who’d extracted his golden core for Jiang Cheng had been unable to tell him the truth, the Jiang Cheng of the present could no longer bring himself to speak up.

[spriteofmushrooms]

@wouldyoulikeacupofteadear More thoughts on chengyao, those tags on their dynamics/sex with my in customer mode and jc aiming to please and thinking my wanted big strong man and them having mediocre sex were great

"Thank you for answering my letter. It is delicate," Jin Guangyao said, shifting his teacup, "since it is believed that a young man changing the way his house is run within three years of his father's passing must be unfilial." Jin Guangyao allowed that statement to breathe, and Jiang Wanyin waited patiently with a slight frown between his eyebrows. "However, some matters require immediate redress."

From his sleeve, he pulled a scroll and placed it between them on the table.

Jiang Wanyin's gaze darted to it. The air grew thick, the heavy feeling of a storm approaching. Zidian lay quiescent, at least.

"Which aspects of the contract would you like to amend, Lianfang-zun?"

"Although you may not know, I was raised in Yunping. We rarely saw cultivators, but the few times our neighbors required help, it was given by YunmengJiang. Your father required very little payment from those who had little to give; and this, I believe, is a tradition you have honored him by continuing."

Jiang Wanyin held still. A clearly practiced posture even now, years into his leadership. "It's reasonable. Expecting poor people to pay you more than they make in half a year allows resentment to fester."

"Not every sect leader makes that choice."

"You've met them," Jiang Wanyin said drily. "You know how they make their choices."

Jin Guangyao smiled and refilled Jiang Wanyin's cup. "Just so. In that spirit, I would like to renegotiate our formal alliance, paying particular notice of certain clauses—especially the ones placing conditions on your access to Jin Ling."

Almond eyes wide, Jiang Wanyin said, "How?"

"By removing them."

With a gasp from Jiang Wanyin, the air cleared. He pulled his hands to his lap, but not before Jin Guangyao noticed them quaking.

Jin Guangyao continued, "Jin Ling is very fortunate to have a jiujiu like you. If it would be amenable to you, I think he would enjoy splitting his time between Jinlin Tai and Lianhua Wu. There are considerations, of course, such as his attendants needing accommodation."

"What do you want in return?" Jiang Wanyin asked neutrally.

"This contract is secret. Changing it will not alter the appearance of either of our sects. No one knows the pressures which were placed upon you; once those pressures end, outsiders will rightly attribute your sect's recovery to your own excellent management, which has been hampered all these years."

"I won't support all of your acts as xiandu," Jiang Wanyin said immediately. "No one can be right all of the time, and I won't pretend you are."

Jin Guangyao shook his head. "Oh my, I explained myself poorly. There are no conditions on this, implied or explicit. Even if nothing else about our alliance changes, that will change. My hope is not for you to become a sycophant, but to understand me better."

Jiang Wanyin raised an eyebrow. "You ended the war with a tyrant. You're the sworn brother of the two most powerful cultivators alive. You're the damn xiandu. Why would my opinion matter?"

"Jin Ling is a sweet, sensitive boy." Jin Guangyao straightened his robes, fingers fluttering over the embroidered garden of his sleeves. "It will be his sect someday. I don't want him to find this contract in ten years' time and discover things about his grandfather and shushu that would disappoint him."

Jiang Wanyin huffed. "Give him twenty years instead, for all our sakes. In ten, he'll still be the silliest boy alive."

[hannigramislife]

don’t mind me going through the Jiang Cheng tag and liking everything…

anyway I saw a post once that said that people ‘only like jc bc they’re younger siblings who feel neglected’ but as an older sibling I actually like him because I feel like I would never want my siblings to be in that situation and if I was wwx I would understand my siblings being disappointed in me, bc I should ( and would) always put them first…

anyway, sorry for the ramble, love Jin ling and his jiujiu, have a good day/night

And that's so valid of you, friend <3

Love when people agree with my Jiang Cheng posts! Like yeah, he's just the best.

Op I saw that post, and I'm a middle child myself so I get you. I'd choose my younger sister over the world, but that's just me I guess @wwx

Also yeah, in this house we love Jin Ling and his jiujiu!

Have a good day/night to you as well.

[waitineedaname]

Very specific but I'd love Jiang Cheng being Jin Ling's favorite uncle in aro4aro chengqing au and Wei Wuxian being mortally offended

People seemed to think that Jiang Yanli was completely blind to her brothers’ faults. This was not true. She just generally did not think those faults were nearly as bad as people made them out to be. Most of what other people found bothersome about her brothers, she was charmed by because she was nothing if not a doting sister.

Being doting and fond, however, did not mean she was unaware of how annoying her brothers were. In fact, due to regular exposure to the two of them, she was extremely aware of just how annoying they could be.

Case in point: their tendency to make everything into a competition, including the affection of her own son.

“I’m just saying, if anyone is going to be the fun uncle, it’s obviously me,” Wei Wuxian said, shaking a rattle over Jin Ling’s head.

“He’s two,” Jiang Cheng snapped, bouncing Jin Ling on his knee. “Anything that moves and makes noise is fun to him.”

“Well, I move and make the most noise, so.” Wei Wuxian leaned in and started making faces at his nephew. “Right, A-Ling? Right?”

Jin Ling gurgled happily and clapped his hands.

Jiang Yanli sighed and leaned against her husband. She appreciated her brothers taking her son off her hands for a while, but really, they were enough of a handful themselves. “Don’t fight, boys,” she said, shaking her head fondly. “A-Ling loves you both.”

“Yeah, but he loves me most, right shijie?” Wei Wuxian shot her a grin. Jiang Cheng huffed and smacked the back of his head, making Jin Ling shriek happy peals of laughter. She could practically feel Zixuan roll his eyes behind her.

“Please don’t give my son ideas,” he said in the long-suffering tone he tended to adopt when he had to be patient with his brothers-in-law. Yanli appreciated the fragile civility they attempted these days. “A-Ling, no hitting, okay?”

“Unless it’s your da-jiu,” Jiang Cheng added in a loud whisper, “Then you should hit him as hard as you can.” 

“Nooo, A-Ling would never hit me, he’s such a good boy, isn’t he?” Wei Wuxian cooed, tickling Jin Ling’s belly. Jin Ling shrieked with laughter again and one of his flailing fists collided directly with Wei Wuxian’s eye. 

Yanli only barely managed to hide her laugh behind her hand. Jiang Cheng snickered, and Zixuan let out a quiet huff of laughter.

“Ah, it was just an accident!” Wei Wuxian insisted. “He’s going to be a very strong cultivator with quick reflexes someday, I can tell!” And then, because he never learned to leave well enough alone, he said, “We should just ask him. Just because he’s little, that doesn’t mean he can’t answer questions!” He poked Jin Ling in the belly again to get his attention, “A-Ling, who’s your favorite? Da-jiu or jiujiu?”

Technically, Jiang Cheng should be er-jiu, but he got priority as the one who met Jin Ling first and saw him the most often. It couldn’t really be helped; Wei Wuxian was still unofficially banned from Carp Tower due to his inability to stay out of trouble, which meant Jiang Cheng got to visit his nephew on diplomatic visits, but Wei Wuxian only got to see him during their frequent trips to Lotus Pier. That meant Jiang Yanli was fairly certain she knew the answer, even before Jin Ling said it.

“Jiujiu!” he happily cried, reaching up to grab Jiang Cheng’s cheeks. The betrayal on Wei Wuxian’s face was comical, especially compared to the way Jiang Cheng’s face lit up. Yanli felt a little bad for Wei Wuxian’s feelings, but it was worth it to see her typically dour baby brother beam under his nephew’s uncomplicated affection.

“Ah, come here A-Xian,” Yanli said, sitting up so she wasn’t leaning against Zixuan and could instead summon her pouting brother to her side. “Don’t take it to heart, okay? He’s a baby, he doesn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I know, I know, shijie,” Wei Wuxian sighed, but leaned in so she could pet his hair anyway. “You don’t think I would be resentful of a baby, do you?”

The noise Jin Zixuan made behind her made it very clear that he wouldn’t put it past Wei Wuxian to be resentful of a baby. Yanli reached back and pinched his thigh, but otherwise focused on Wei Wuxian. “The next baby we have, I’ll deliver here in Lotus Pier, how about that? Qing-mei can be my midwife, and you can get first dibs on holding the baby. Aside from me and A-Xuan, of course.”

“Promise?” he said, giving her the pleading eyes that always earned him an extra portion of soup. 

“I promise.” She kissed his forehead, and this seemed to improve his mood, though his eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion in Jin Zixuan’s direction. 

“You’re not already having another baby, are you?” he asked. Zixuan coughed awkwardly, and Yanli pinched Wei Wuxian’s cheek this time.

“A-Xian, be nice,” she said, lightly scolding. “We’ll tell you when we know, okay?”

“Okay, shijie,” Wei Wuxian grumbled, still shooting Jin Zixuan judgmental looks. He turned back to Jin Ling, who was being gently tossed in the air by Jiang Cheng. “A-Ling! Do you wanna go down the river and visit A-Yuan?”

“Yuan-ge, Yuan-ge!” Jin Ling happily exclaimed, clapping his hands. His uncles scooped him up and grabbed the bag of diapers and snacks Yanli had brought, bundling him out onto the pier with promises not to drown their beloved nephew in the lake. 

Zixuan let out a tired sigh as soon as they left the room, taking his turn to lean against his wife’s side. “Why are they always this exhausting?” 

Yanli laughed and petted his hair. “Maybe another baby would give them something else to focus on,” she suggested lightly. Zixuan immediately flushed red and hid his face in her shoulder, making her laugh again. 

Yes, her brothers’ antics could be annoying, but they were good uncles. She was very grateful to be able to trust her son in their hands for a few hours.

[mediocretosubpar-soup]

@jiangchengsjawline @whumpbby on a related note to this post, jc badgered by the world to stabilize ymj with an heir gets a magic baby!lotus and thinks, i don't want anyone else in my house. so, he conducts the energies for the magic baby!lotus via sandu and suibian. and never mentions this to anyone ever.

---

JL: who's the other parent?

JC (thinking of wwx calling him SLJ and addressing him like a stranger): he's dead.

---wwx finds out about the kid---

WWX: so tell your uncle wei, who is the brave woman who endured jc's noxious personality long enough to produce a baby.

JL (at least, 5 Jin disciples hiding behind him): this is a night hunt!

around them the forest is peaceful and very still, not even a cricket dares to chirp.

WWX (blithely): and what a great job you did all the ghosts have fled from the might of the jin sect. so let's catch up! who's the unluckiest lady of the jianghu?

the jin sect disciples huddle closer to JL.

JL (rising to his full height and pulling JGY's best customer service smile onto his face): if you are so interested in the business of yunmeng jiang sect, i'll be delighted to escort you there.

wwx, the coward, folds like a wet blanket. in the privacy of his own head, JL sneers at him. how dare wwx demand jiujiu's secrets when he's not even willing to face the man.

--- three months and a few days after the magic lotus has ripened into a human child ---

wwx crawls into lotus pier. the wards around the child's chambers are impressive. still wwx could break them, jc has never beaten him, after all. but if jc trusted him with the child, he would have invited him, wouldn't he have? (the invitation said lan sect + spouses, jc doesn't know wwx has been banned from joining the lans in a diplomatic function) wwx isn't going to disrespect jc's boundaries more than he already has, just a little, it's fine jiang cheng will never know. wwx places his gifts among all the other ostentatious presents from sect leaders far and wide.

when the baby learns to crawl and grab, she picks out a silly bamboo flute carved with all kinds of nasty lake critters, its tassel boring, mud colored thread. JL balks, how did such a shoddy thing find its way into the presents for the heir of lotus pier? until, he sees JC smile.

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Bonus Story: The Silver-Haired Sea Merchant

Warning: This short story takes place after Volume 7 and contains spoilers for the ending!

So the gist of the series ending is: Jusetsu is no longer the Raven Consort and decides to travel the world along with Jiujiu, Onkei, and Tan Kai as sea merchants.

It was said that those islands were created from the husk of a serpent.

“The sea god went to the deep, deep bottom of the sea. The only one who can see him and hear his voice is the shaman queen.”

The old man, who was completely drunk, slurred his words, a cup of alcohol in hand. Next to him, Tan Kai had his chin in his hands and was listening with an interested smile, while opposite him, Onkei had a sour look on his face. He hated drunks. Jusetsu looked between the two of them as she bit into the pork on the bone. It was gently simmered and had a sweet and spicy flavor. Apparently, it was a specialty of this restaurant, and the old man, seeing that Jusetsu and her friends were travelling merchants, generously treated them to a meal.

The old man was a fisherman who lived in this port town on Kada, and his arms were covered in scaly tattoos. It appeared that few people on Kada or Karoku had tattoos like that anymore, but the old man proudly rolled up his sleeves to show them off, calling them the pride of a fisherman.

“But putting that aside, you have beautiful silver hair.”

The old man gazed at Jusetsu’s hair with drowsy eyes. Her shining silver hair was tied back, and she was dressed in black robes. Jusetsu, who was in her twenties, attracted attention even when she was wearing unrefined men’s clothing.

“I heard that in the country of Shou, the silver-haired bloodline had died out. You’d better be careful not to catch the eye of strange folk. Around here, silver hair means slaves.”

Jusetsu nodded. This was what her merchant master, Un Chitoku, had told her when she first came to Kada. In Kada, those with silver hair, whether they were men or women, were slaves and bought and sold by slavers. She was to be extremely careful as to avoid being misunderstood or kidnapped.

She had assumed that having silver hair wouldn’t be a problem in a foreign country, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Despite her caution, she had run into trouble many times in Kada. She had considered dyeing it, but that would be a waste of water, and Tan Kai claimed that it would be better if people remembered her face and name instead. If she became famous as a silver-haired merchant, she wouldn’t be mistaken for someone else or get kidnapped. Jiujiu agreed, saying, “It would be such a shame to dye that beautiful silver hair. Niangniang has done nothing wrong, so there is no need to dye it.” That was just like her. Onkei was worried, but also agreed that it was a good idea when thinking about the future. And so, Jusetsu kept her silver hair. In other words, she must become a great sea merchant.

“Shall we return to the ship now?” Onkei asked, looking at the plate that now held only bones. The old man had already fallen into a drunken doze. After finishing their business in Kada, they planned to return to Shou via Ake. Jiujiu had already returned to the ship and was preparing for the voyage.

“Did you two forget to buy anything?” Jusetsu checked with them as they left the restaurant and headed for the port. Tan Kai and Onkei responded in the negative.

“What about you, Niangniang?” Tan Kai asked. “You didn’t forget to buy a present for Dajia like last time, did you?”

“I didn’t forget that time. I only assumed he didn’t want anything. And then…”

He had been very disappointed. Even though as the emperor, he would have been presented with a countless number of precious and expensive items.

Tan Kai chuckled. Onkei glared at him, but seemed to agree, judging by his silence.

“I bought something for him this time, so don’t worry,” Jusetsu said, even as she began to worry that she might have forgotten something.

“Gold hair accessories for Kajou…a jade paperweight for Koushun…” Jusetsu counted the people she had prepared gifts for on her fingers. “Senri…Ishiha…Kougyou, Keishi…and then…ah,” she muttered and stopped walking.

“Oh no, I forgot about Ei Sei.” She turned around hastily. “He doesn’t look like it, but he holds deep grudges, so he’d surely keep nagging me if I were to forget his present. Maybe I should buy him some tea utensils, but if I buy something half-hearted, that would make him even angrier…”

Jusetsu muttered to herself as she hurried back to town. Tan Kai and Onkei looked at each other. Tan Kai broke into a grin, and Onkei also couldn’t help but smile.

[demonicfarmer69]

Q: does jiujiu give good hugs? And is he a huggy person?

🍋: jiujiu isn't a huggy person (…and he gives the best hugs, but dont tell anyone i said that)