#linsongate

[welcometounicornworlds]

first look at ‘Wasteman’ starring David Jonsson and Tom Blyth (2024)

(x)

[thebiscuiteternal]

Can we have some more on what Nie Dad and Huaisang's relationship was like? Or what happened with Nie Dad and Mingjue's mom?

So, like, when I did the first Reverse Nies timeline, the relationship I pretty much had in my head was Stoick and Hiccup, you know the whole "No more of... this."/"You just gestured to all of me." only with the added angst of Huaisang's mama having died in childbirth.

Nie Haoran... he loves his son. He does. But at the same time, he finds himself struggling with that, wondering if maybe he's just fooling himself, because sometimes he can't help looking at Huaisang and thinking "Leiyun died for that?"

So he doesn't step in to defend Huaisang during a lot of times he should, and he can't stop expressing his disappointment in Huaisang's general everything even though he knows he's not being fair or a good parent and Huaisang doesn't deserve this.

Finding a mutual hobby in falconry and the care of the birds helped considerably, because it more or less forced Haoran to actually see that Huaisang did have things he was very, very good at, and would even be beneficial to a sect leader!

But Huaisang was never going to properly bond a saber or be capable in a battle, and Haoran just couldn't accept the affront to their ancestors that presented.

He loved Leiyun. He was trying to love Huaisang.

He went looking for a more fitting heir anyway.

Enter Linsong! Unlike Leiyun, she was a tall sturdy woman who also loved training falcons and hunting in general and was very good at it. She was practically already a Nie, except she'd been born to Lanling gentry. After never being able to secure a husband there, she'd taken to living on the road and doing as she pleased.

It was almost love at first sight for both of them, but Linsong had grown too accustomed to the wanderer lifestyle to ever settle down for very long. So when she got pregnant, they both agreed that, boy or girl, their child would go live with Haoran in the Unclean Realms, with all the proper papers to show they were a fully legitimized heir.

He never told Huaisang.

His last lucid thought as he lay in the infirmary, before the rage took him over for good, was that he should have told Huaisang.

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

With A Flap Of Wings, Part One

(okay. here we go.)

Warnings for the overall story: Implications/mentions of suicide, miscarriage.

Tags: Nie-family centric, alternate timeline, time travel fix-it, ghosts, suicide, everybody lives (I know how weird it sounds having both, you gotta trust me here), no-war timeline

----------------

Nie Huaisang sits and stares at the closed stone doors of the tomb that contains the bodies of nearly all of his family, or at least their sabers.

All except for his brother, who remains trapped in that heavens-damned coffin.

The pile of aged papers in his lap rustle in the chilly breeze, but he barely pays attention, even though the pages are the answer to one of the many questions that had been plaguing him since the first time the ritual to purify his brother’s soul had failed. 

Since the first time the time-jumping ritual had failed.

He can't remember how many times he's cast it, using his own blood to dive into the past, only to inevitably be flung back here no matter how deep he went or which events he changed.

But now he understands. 

All of the monsters and ugly twists of fate that had targeted his family... they had only been symptoms of the disease. 

He is the cause. 

He, the ill-omened child who killed his own mother with his first breath, is the one who brought calamity on all who ever knew him, death and misfortune dogging his steps before he could even walk.

This, all of this, is because of him.

But he can still fix it. 

Maybe none of the other attempts had worked, but that was because he hadn't known where to weed out the rot threatening the garden. 

Now, he does. 

Closing his eyes and bracing himself, he draws the knife from his belt for what he desperately hopes will be the last time.

–- 

Nie Leiyun is six months into her pregnancy –one month away from what would have been her death from hemorrhaging during an arduous childbirth– when she staggers and has to catch herself on a table, suddenly overcome by a horrible throbbing pain in her guts. 

But it's when the pain stops, everything inside her going unnaturally still, that she actually starts to panic and sinks down to sit on the floor, trying to call out and unable to make her voice work. 

A maid rushing to help her back to her feet is the first to see the blood starting to stain her robes and the stone beneath her, and she’s the one who screams for the healers when Nie Leiyun can’t. 

Despite all their efforts, the healers are only able to save one life. 

Once, in a timeline that has just been erased, it was the child. 

This time, it's the mother.

---

The grief that falls over the sect is heavy. 

No one seems to be more crushed by it than Nie Mingjue. 

All of six years old, he had been adamant that he didn't want a sibling and had complained to anyone who would listen. Babies were stinky and dumb and boring and either cried all the time or made messes everywhere. Gross.

And now the baby is dead, dead and gone, and no amount of hugs or kind words can convince the boy that he hadn't somehow wished his little brother away. 

Nie Haoran and Nie Linsong are gentle with their wife and son's grief -it had been Linsong's own struggles with having another child that had prompted the second wedding, after all- and it's Linsong who makes a fateful suggestion one night as the two of them are sitting by the fire one evening, Linsong spoiling her falcon with some extra preening assistance and Leiyun mending some clothing. 

"The only reason you put your search on hold was because the pregnancy was becoming too harsh on your health, wasn't it? Why not pick it back up again now once you've recovered a little?" 

---

Three and a half months later, Nie Leiyun hears rumors of a high-ranking courtesan in Yunping who has been making waves among the cultivation gentry. This by itself is nothing new, she has investigated over a dozen other women who ended up in the brothels like she originally had and have since risen to some level of fame, some even attracting the attention of sect leaders like she had. 

But none of those women had been outright carrying her long-abandoned surname of Meng. 

She does her best not to get her hopes up, but luck is on her side for a change, and three days after she first hears the whispers, Nie Leiyun -Meng Xiu- clutches her sister Meng Shi in a tearful embrace. 

She doesn't know how to feel about the tiny boy that her sister introduces her to. He is not yet two years old, so close to her Sang-er. 

They could have grown up cousins. 

Friends. 

But now- 

She wipes her eyes and puts aside her selfishness. Yao-er can still be a cousin and friend to Mingjue, and he and her sister both deserve far better than this place. 

She takes them home.

[nanasibrushes]

“there’s a man I love, in the sea, in the clouds, in my heart...”

Artwork of Lord Linsong from Nan Chan

[incorrect-web-novels]

Demon: There's a rumor going around that Cangdi is in love with Lord Linsong.

Cang Ji: You're telling me people are still doubting it?

[angieloveshua]

“Although Dong Jun’s appearance is gorgeous, his original form is savage. Besides, he’s a devil born of the Blood Sea. It flusters me to be with him. However. “Fei Luo laughed. “A few hundreds of years ago, Lord Linsong once listened to mundane doctrine among the clouds, and his side profile put tens of thousands of spirits to shame. Even the Goddess Shengyue had to give way. After Lord Linsong received his rank as a Divine Lord, the once-considered ‘number one beauty’ Goddess Shengyue no longer showed her face. To tell you the truth, when Lord Linsong was still alive, I was determined to marry him.” 

Cang Ji could still listen to him at first, but when he heard this sentence, the window wood under his hands snapped with a “CRACK”.

Oh, Fei Luo, if I were you, I would take back my words. Lord Linsong has his red thread intertwined with a certain fish.

[dangermousie]

Cangdi was dead.

Countless people silently read these words to themselves. Whether it was the few remaining people in the know, or the bewildered transient guests, they all watched Jing Lin attentively, as though they wanted to pry something out from Lord Linsong. However, Lord Linsong showed no signs of evasion, nor revealed any emotion.

It was at this moment Li Rong remembered that bout of heavy rain. He was hoisting Jing Lin over his shoulder, and Jing Lin was crying uncontrollably in the rain. Even though he cut a sorry figure, he was still a person. But now, as he sat upright opposite Jing Lin, he could see that this was not a man, but a tempered sword of the Heaven.

Lord Linsong had no heart.

i want to murder you all!!!! Look what you did to him!!! Look!!!!!!

This novel is like a recruitment device for atheism, I swear!

[bookofjin]

Rise of Sixteen States: Prologues

Liu Yuan, courtesy name Yuanhai, was a Xiongnu from Xinxing.

Shi Le, courtesy name Shilong, was a Jie from Wuxiang in Shangdang.

Murong Hui, courtesy name Yiluogui, was a Xianbei from Jicheng in Changli.

Fu Hong, courtesy name Guangshi, was a Di of Linwei in Lüeyang.

Yao Yizhong was a Qiang from Chiting in Nan'an.

Li Te, courtesy name Xuanxiu, was a native of Dangqu in Baxi.

Zhang Gui, courtesy name Shiyan, was a native of Wushi in Anding,

Li Gao, courtesy name Xuansheng, was a native of Didao in Longxi.

Juqu Mengxun was a Lu River Hu of Linsong in Zhangye.

Lü Guang, courtesy name Shiming, was a Di of Lüeyang.

(Murong Chui was Murong Hui's grandson)

Tufa Wugu was a Xianbei of Hexi.

(Murong De was Murong Hui's grandson)

Qifu Guoren was a Xianbei of Longxi.

Feng Ba, courtesy name Wenqi, was a native of Xindu in Changle.

Helian Bobo was a Tiefu of Shuofang.

Ancient Times

(Li Te)

Li Te, courtesy name Xuanxiu, was a native of  Dangqu in Baxi. His ancestors were the progeny of the Lord of Granaries. Formerly, Wuluozhongli Mountain collapsed, and there was two stone caves. One of them was red like cinnabar, one was black like lacquer. There was a person who came out the red cave, his name was Wuxiang, and his family name was the Ba clan. Those who came out from the black cave were altogether four families, called the Yi clan, the Fan clan, the Xiang clan, and the Zheng clan. The five families who came out together all competed to become the god. Hence one after the other they used their swords to stab the roof of the cave, and the one who could make it stick would become Lord of Granaries. The four families could not do it, yet Wuxiang's sword hung there. Again they used earth to make boats, carved and drew on them, and then floated them on the river, saying:

If someone's boat stays afloat, he will become Lord of Granaries.

Wuxiang's boat again was the only one to float.

Hence he thereupon was declared Lord of Granaries. He sailed his earthen boat, bringing along his followers and underlings. At the Yi River he went down, and arrived at Yanyang. The river godess of Yanyang detained the Lord of Granaries, saying:

This is a place with fish and salt, and the the land is also broad and great. The Lord and [I] will live together, [you] can stop and not travel.

The Lord of Granaries said:

I will be Lord and seeks out land for granaries, [I] am not able to stop.

The salt goddess at night followed to where the Lord of Granaries rested, and at dawn immediately left and became a flying insect. Various gods all followed in her flight, and covered the sun from dawn to dusk. The Lord of Granaries wished to kill her but could not do it, and in addition, he also did not know heaven or earth, east or west. It was like this for ten days. The Lord of Granaries therefore used a blue-green thread to present to the salt goddess, saying:

Wear this around the neck, if it fits you, you and [I] will live together. [If] it doesn't fit, [I] should leave you.

The salt goddess accepted and wore it. The Lord of Granaries stood up on top of a yang rock, looked at her breast were was the blue-green thread, knelt and shot at it, hitting the salt goddess. The salt goddess died, and the crowd of gods together with the flying things all left. Heaven then began to brighten.

The Lord of Granaries again sailed the earthen boat, and went down until Yicheng. At Yicheng the stone bank curved, and the spring water also curved. The Lord of Granaries saw that they were shaped like a cave, sighed, and said:

I recently moved to come out form a cave, and now again will enter this one, why is it so!

The bank just then made a rupture, more than three zhang wide, with stair steps ascending each other. The Lord of Granaries climbed them. On top there was a flat rock, two zhang square, five chi square. The Lord of Granaries rested on top of it. He cast divining sticks to calculate and plan, all brought forth the rock.  The four families were all subject to him. When he died, his cloud and white soul transformed and became a white tiger. For that reason, the Ba clan, since tigers drink people's blood, thereupon used people to worship [him].

Qin and Former Han

(Li Te)

When Qin united Under Heaven, they used the Ba people as Qianzhong commandery, and collected a small tax from them. Each mouth annually produced 40 coins (WS: 30 coins). The people of Ba referred to tax as “cong”, and following that spoke of them as the Cong people.

When Gaozu of Han became King of Han, he recruited Cong people to pacify and settle the Three Qin. And then when they sought to return to their home villages, Gaozu due to their merit, remitted them, like Feng and Pei, from providing taxes and duties, and altered the name for their land to be Ba commandery.

(Feng and Pei were Gaozu's home town and home county. Xiang Yu divided the former Qin heartland in Guanzhong into three states governed by former Qin officials, these were known as the Three Qin. The King of Han attacked and destroyed them in 206 BC.)

The ground has an abundance of salt, iron, cinnabar and lacquer, and the population by their use are prosperous and rich. They are by custom and nature alert and brave, excel at ghosts and wizardry, and are also good at song and dance. Gaozu loved their dancing, and decreed the music office practice it. This is the present Bayu Dance. Their descendants multiplied and flourished, and divided to become several tens of families.

(Liu Yuan & Murong Hui)

Liu Yuan, courtesy name Yuanhai, was a Xiongnu of Xinxing. His ancestors were the progeny of the Xia princely clan called Chunwei. For generations they lived among the Northern Di, for more than a thousand years.

Murong Hui, courtesy name Yiluogui, was a Xianbei man from Jicheng in Changli. Formerly when the Gaoxin clan floated to the banks of the sea, they left behind the youngest son, Yanci as lord of the Northern Yi. For generations they resided Left of Liao, with their town in the wilderness of Zimeng, and were titled as the Eastern Hu. Their descendants and the Xiongnu flourished side by side, their soldiers who drew the bow were more than 200 000, and their manners, customs and officials' titles were roughly similar to those of the Xiongnu.

Arriving at Modun of the Xiongnu, he assailed and routed the Eastern Hu, in the west he ran off the Yuezhi, in the north he [got] submission from the Dingling, in the interior he raided Yan and Dai. [He had] 40 000 who drew the bow. Gaozu of Han was troubled by him, he sent Liu Jing to give over the Princess to accordingly marry him, making a covenant as brothers. For that reason the sons and grandsons thereupon dared make their family name the Liu clan.

When the Eastern Hu were defeated by the Xiongnu, they were separated off to guard Xianbei Mountain. Following that, they used it as their title.

(Li Gao)

Li Gao, courtesy name Xuansheng, child name Changsheng, was a native of Didao in Longxi. He was the sixteenth generation grandson of Han's General of the Van, Guang, and a descendant of Guang's son, Palace Attendant Gan. Guang's great grandfather Zhongxiang at the beginning of Han became General, he chastised rebellious Qiang at Suchang. Suchang is precisely Didao. His multitudes were few and were no match, and he died there. Zhongxiang's son Bokao came running to grieve, and following that buried him at Dongchuan in Didao. Thereupon he had his family there, for generations they were among the honoured families of the western provinces.

(According to Shiji, Li Guang was a native Chengji in Longxi, his ancestor, the Qin general Li Xin, had moved there from Huaili in Youfufeng.)

(Lü Guang)

Lü Guang, courtesy name Shiming, was a Di man of Lüeyang. His ancestor Lü Wenhe at the beginning of Emperor Wen of Han's reign moved from Pei to Lüeyang to escape difficulties. For generations they were chieftains and prominent men.

(For instance Empress Dowager Lü’s family ran into some difficulties at the beginning of Emperor Wen's reign.)

[shijiujun]

Hello! Any warnings for nan chan?, I’m a iffy about their relationship since i feel like ling song jun raised him

heya! ermm actually not really tbh, but feel free to pose more questions or avoid this novel if you’re not convinced!

so linsong-jun isn’t really present for any raising? he’s pretty much asleep, stuffs demonic carp into his sleeve silently without interacting with it, most of the time! and then when carp becomes kid cang ji, he’s a kid for like... a week, and his brain like fast forwards into an adult like in the span of a day - and while he’s in kid form, jing lin... abandons him XD and then proceeds to fall asleep after feeding the kid blood - that happens like over the span of a few days/weeks. there’s no raising XD 

it’s just those few days or a week when cang ji is first a kid, he’s still trying to like figure out his limbs and speech patterns, which he does real quickly, and when he does, jing lin abandons him, and cang ji finds his way back - he’s crying like a kid yes, but it’s out of like desperation to be near his favourite, delicious deity-turned-food (he hasn’t figured out just why he has an instinctive need to be near jing lin yet), and when he gets back, jing lin is already asleep!!! jing lin wakes up for a moment, they talk a bit, and then he’s asleep again, and then enemies come and discover them, and then cang ji has to drink his blood and grows up into a teenager, enough to get them both off the mountain they’ve lived at for years. at this point cang ji has literally been in human form for a few days? as a demon as well, cang ji as demonic carp also has one goal, which is literally to devour jing lin to amass greater power/cultivation.

even as a kid, the first thing jing lin says is to warn him that if he wants to eat him he should do it now while he’s weak and groggy/asleep, because he ain’t gonna get another chance. i don’t see how any of this interaction constitutes any sort of loving/nurturing sort of raising! they’re well aware of what kind of ‘creature’ the other is. jing lin doesn’t think that this carp is something or someone he’s even taking care of, and demonic carp/cang ji never once thinks that jing lin is his keep/caregiver/parent etc. 

cang ji at jing lin - “yummy food, hungry, if i eat him up we’ll be together forever”

jing lin at cang ji - “a carp that may try to eat me up when he materializes in his human form, but for now it’s a carp, he may stay, but i’m sleeping all the time anyway, i hate person to person interaction, let me just die in this place”

jing lin is literally either asleep, injured, or daring cang ji to kill him, and then once cang ji feeds on his blood twice he’s a young teenager already and physically taking care of jing lin - basically cang ji figures it out on his own, i’d say he’s a house plant that fortunately didn’t die while jing lin was asleep for 80% of the time in 500 years, and the other 20% jing ling was silently feeding him and making sure he’s not too hungry BEFORE gg back to sleep

i guess as an ancient dragon that regresses into a demonic carp as well, it’s natural for his brain to just turn adult-mode on despite being stuck in a kid/teen/young dude’s body for a few weeks/months. as a demon - i don’t think the age thing kind of works either because he’s pretty much ancient. 

also while i’m on the topic of warnings as well, jing lin isn’t exactly suicidal i.e. he doesn’t actively seek death, he just doesn’t care if he lives or dies at any point, so doesn’t go out of his way to die or stay alive at least in the beginning, his soul is pretty much injured, hence the perpetual sleeping!

[vierran45]

With the mystery behing Lord Linsong’s fate and how everything seems to be related to the past in this novel, I very much get the feeling that Cang Ji’s speech and admonition to Jing Lin isn’t just about the fox spirit Qianyu and his human lover. This novel is very weird at times, but it’s a good kind of weirdness that just makes me want to read more.

[spineofdeathwing]

Linsong/Lasinara is now on Moonguard.

The pedophile I exposed on WRA has fled to Moonguard. A little more than year ago, Linsong/Lasinara was exposed for lying to the community about harassment and claiming I told him to "kill yourself", atop that he admitted to being a pedophile while in a WRA Harassment Report Page on Facebook. Following my exposing of Banegrivm on Moonguard, Lasinara began an exodus of his own knowing the popularity I amassed from exposing a pedophile, this included character bound achievements, renaming, transferring and deleting toons of his own. However, a friend of his sought me, coming forth with additional claims. I wouldn't believe them to be entirely honest had it not been for the fact this person was after me with a burning passion to defend Lasinara. In addition provided me his character names.  Original Post: https://imgur.com/a/lYZX5B1  These additional claims are from someone hated by WRA, who explained he is trying to better himself and this is one of the ways, take of this as you will - reflected upon Lasinara's actions and the evidence provided.  https://imgur.com/a/DZ2PJlm Finally, here is the primary characters Lasinara has been found on: https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/wyrmrest-accord/Trilisse https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/moon-guard/Eldilyia https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/moon-guard/Leadina (best part about the MG toons is they are actually transfer/renames of Lasinara & Linsong :rofl: )

Lots of money spent on his end. He has gone a long way to go incognito and as they say actions speak louder than words. 

[thebiscuiteternal]

Biscuit! Sorry if I'm late to writing jam (it has been. A. Day. In lab today) and please feel free to disregard if I am, but for spooky writing jam:

Either one of the Nie Moms as ghosts?

A part of Nie Linsong's heart always prickled with guilt whenever she got the opportunity to look in on the boys.

It wasn't fair that Nie Leiyun had never been able to come on one of these visits; that her wife could only subsist on the stories and descriptions she brought back with her to the realm of the dead.

After all, she had gotten eight years with Mingjue and two years with Huaisang- Leiyun had never gotten to meet Huaisang at all before death had taken her.

The guilt made her greedy, taking in anything and everything she possibly could and committing it to memory as vividly as possible so that there would be more to give her wife.

But this time-

-this time-

-she desperately wished that she could see less and do more.

Their husband's body was, in her vision, wreathed in red flames that made sickening twisted shapes of corpses on the floor around him as he stood hunched over, an enraged, animalistic expression of rage on his face and the sturdy, calloused hands she'd always been fond of wrapped around around the throat of their younger son with crushing pressure.

Little Huaisang couldn't even scream with the force on his windpipe, and any moment, his equally fragile spine could-

-forcing herself to tear away from the horrible sight, she streaked from hall to hall, aiming for the bright spark that was their older son.

"Jue-er!" she screamed the moment she saw him, putting all the spiritual force she had in her body into her voice. "Your father's room! He's killing your brother!"

Nie Mingjue jerked, looking around in confusion. "Is someone-?"

"No time! Go! Save your brother!"

Fortunately, that was enough to get him moving, running towards Nie Haoran's room with his mother's spirit right on his heels.

She could only hope that they would be in time; that Mingjue's mad dash across the sect grounds would attract enough help.

That she wouldn't have to return to Leiyun with the news that their sons would be joining them along with their husband when this horrible night was over.

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

Okay, so, trying to get into this less refined thing.

As I said before, I actually have an outline for how the Butterfly Effect AU is supposed to go past the point I couldn't keep writing. If y'all don't mind spoilers, I'd be interested in your thoughts.

(But I'm putting it behind a cut for those who don't want spoilers.)

By the time his parents and brother and cousin get close enough to get Huaisang's attention, both Papa Nie and Mingjue are suffering pretty horrible nosebleeds, maybe even bleeding from the eyes too, and Linsong and Zonghui are not doing much better.

Understandably, since this is the day Mingjue died in the old timeline, the blood only makes Huaisang panic more, which makes the shockwaves worse.

Mingjue has no idea how to reassure him, just holding on to him in the hopes that will help somehow.

Suddenly he feels the cold shock of ghostly hands reaching into his body, something that had never happened before since Huaisang had always been partially solid.

While he's still stunned, he can feel something like layers and layers of grime being burned off his core as Huaisang clutches it. As the shockwaves die down, he finds himself feeling... better. A lot better. Even though he was nowhere near the qi deviation he'd experienced in the old timeline, the resentment was still starting to accumulate, and now it's just gone.

Huaisang seems to be just as surprised that whatever he did worked, at least as a temporary fix.

He starts to reach for their dad to do the same to him, but then he... flickers a little bit, like a struggling candle flame.

Oh. Shit. Papa Nie immediately realizes that they are now very short on time and orders everyone else to go get Huaisang's mama, the other siblings/extended family members, and every healer and strong cultivator they have, because they can't hold out hope that Huaisang will hang on long enough for Lan Qiren and Wen Ruohan to arrive. They have to execute the saber preservation plan now and pray it doesn't destroy him for good.

It takes the entire rest of the day and almost all the way through the night to finish the ritual, and by the time it's done, Huaisang is more like a smoke wisp than a glow. Pretty much all of his family is in tears, but he's... smiling.

It worked. Generations of Nies will be able to use the pear tree as a place to cleanse their sabers when they start getting too demanding, and the pears to cleanse themselves.

His brother's alive. His parents are alive. His cousins are alive. He has a sister now. The war never started. He has no more regrets.

Realizing that they really are going to lose him now, Mingjue makes him promise he'll come back somehow, so that they can eventually reincarnate as brothers again.

And then he's gone.

Three months later, Mingjue turns thirty and takes on the sect leader role, his father being the first Nie leader ever to be able to peacefully retire.

Six years after that, a circus caravan is passing through, and is invited to perform for the locals in the courtyard of the Unclean Realms. Nie Xunyao is the first to notice something strange, and immediately goes to get Mingjue.

There's a small boy among the performers, caring for the trained bird flock with surprising ease. He's happy and healthy and greets Nie-zongzhu with a huge grin and an offer to hold one of the colorful parrotlets.

He has bright green eyes and a very familiar face.

[incorrect-web-novels]

I don't beg to differ - I just do it.

- Lord Linsong, Jing Lin

[angieloveshua]

Resting his head on A-Yi’s back, Cang Ji pinched Jing Lin’s cheek with both fingers and shouted, “My darling is going home. I’ll make sure that everyone in the Three Realms knows that Lord Linsong is mine from now on.”

Jing Lin saw that the red thread had already been wound into a knot, and there was no one else in mid-air other than the wind. Thus, he said, “Gege.”

THEY'RE SO BEAUTIFUL TOGETHER, ASDFGHJKLÑ.

[bookofjin]

Records of Lü Guang, Part 2

[From JS122]

Qiangui's cousin Kedan came in flight. Guang sent down a document saying:

Qiangui is a wolf cub with a wild heart, from beginning to end turning around and tipping over. We have just to the east purified Qin and Zhao, directing to inscribe at Kuaji. Why make an upright son a standing owl south of the Gan? [?] Moreover his brothers inside leave each other [?], can be the moment of opportune, most not exceed the present. Thus counsel centre and outside to admonish sternly, We undertake to personally punish.

Guang hence stayed at Changzui, and sent Lü Zuan leading Yang Gui, Dou Ji and others leading 30 000 infantry and cavalry to attack Jincheng. Qiangui lead a multitude of 20 000 to rescue it. Guang dispatched his generals Wang Bao and Xu Jiong leading 5 000 cavalry to intercept him. Qiangui was afraid, and did not advance.

Guang also dispatched his generals Liang Gong and Jinshi Sheng [?] to use 10 000 to set out beneath Yangwu Gorge. They and the Inspector of Qin province Meiyi Yu attacked to his east. Guang's younger brother, the Duke of Tianshui, Yan, used the multitudes of Fuhan to attack Lintao, Wushi and Heguan, capturing all of them. Lü Zuan overcame Jincheng, and captured Qiangui's Grand Warden of Jincheng, Wei Jian. Jian with glaring [?] eyes spoke to Guang, saying:

I would rather defend credentials with a cut off head than be a surrendered recreant.

Guang [saw his] righteousness and spared him. Qiangui because of that was greatly shaken, and with a weeping sigh said:

Among the dead seeking to live, proper to be today. [?]

He then let loose double agents, claiming that Qiangui's multitudes had dispersed, and that he had fled east to Chengji. Lü Yan trusted them, pulled out the host and advanced carelessly. Yan's Marshal, Geng Zhi, remonstrated, saying:

Qiangui is heroic and brave beyond ordinary people, his powerful plans are difficult to estimate. He routed Wang Guang and overcame Yang Ding, always with a weak host to thereby entice them. Although [his is] a petty and small state, it likewise is not possible to make light of it. A surrounded beast is likely to fight, furthermore is not Qiangui yet looking to the wind and scattering himself! Moreover to make announcements of observing the exalted and appearing to act, surely this is a a treacherous plan. Yet now if we are in proper sections and columns, then go forward, infantry and cavalry connected to each other, calmly waiting for the various armies to greatly assemble, then it is possible in a single stretch to wipe him out.

Yan did not follow. He and Qiangui met each other, he was defeated in battle and died there. Geng Zhi and General Jiang Xiang gathered and assembled the scattered soldiers and garrisoned at Fuhan. Guang returned to Guzang.

Guang was unconstrained and senile, and trusted slander. He killed the Master of Writing Juqu Luochou and the Grand Warden of Sanhe, Juqu Quzhou. Luochou's younger brother's son Mengxun rebelled against Guang, and killed the Army-Protector of Zhongtian [?], Ma Sui, attacked and captured Linsong commandery, and garrisoned the troops at Mount Jin. He greatly was a worry for the hundred families.

Mengxun's senior cousin Nancheng had earlier become General, defending Jincheng. He heard Mengxu had risen with troops, and absconded and fled to count on the recreants. He incited the various Yi, the multitude reaching several thousands, and advanced to attack Fulu and Jian'an. The General who Soothes the Rong, Zhao Ce, struck and defeated him. Nancheng withdrew to garrison Leguan.

Lü Zuan defeated Mengxun at Hu Valley. The Grand Warden of Jiuquan, Lei Cheng, led Generals Zhao Ce and Zhao Ling with more than 10 000 infantry and cavalry to punish Nancheng. They were defeated in battle and Cheng and Ce died there. Nancheng advanced to attack Jiankang, and advised the Grand Warden, Duan Ye, saying:

The Lü clan's government is in decline, powerful subjects monopolize instructions, laws and regulations have lost the middle ground, people are not capable of serving. In the land of single province, there are rebellions in connected cities, with a tendency to shattering the tiles, brightly being seen [?], the hundred families clamouring, without ancestral adherence. Office Lord, how can [you] consider covering the talents of the generation, and establish loyalty to a generation on a limb for destruction!

Nancheng and others already sing [your] great righteousness, and wis rather for the Office Lord to console and preside over the border province, making the remainder of smearing charcoal cover the kindness of coming habitually [?].

Ye did not follow. They grasped each other from two sides for 20 days, and yet outside help did not arrive. Gao Gui and Shi Hui and others, natives of the commandery, spoke to Ye, saying:

Now this orphaned city stands alone, the palace is not relieving or aiding. Office Lord, though [your] hearts exceeds Tian Dan, the city is not Jimo. We ought to consider lofty calculations, moving calamity to become a blessing.

Ye had earlier not been level with Guang's Palace Attendant Fang Gui and the Supervisor Wang Xiang. He worried about not facing himself [?], and therefore allowed it. Nancheng and others pushed forward Ye as Great Commander-in-Chief, Great General who Gallops like a Dragon, Shepherd of Liang province and Duke of Jiankang. Guang instructed Lü Zuan to punish Ye. Juqu Mengxun advanced to garrison Lintao and was expressing power for Ye. They fought at Heli, Zuan's host was greatly defeated.

Guang's Cavalier in Regular Attendance and Grand Master of Ceremonies, Guo Nun was enlightened in astronomy, and good at divining the sky. He spoke to Wang Xiang, saying:

In astronomy, the allocated field of Liang is about to have great troops. [Our] master and sovereign is old and ill, the Heir-Apparent is unassuming and unnoticed, Zuan others are lethal and martial, in a single morning it will not be hidden, there will surely be difficulties arising. Since us two persons for a long time have resided within the core, and regularly have not spoken good of them, [I] fear calamity will reach the persons. [We] deeply ought to be worried about it.

The King of Tianhu, Qiqiji's [?] section multitudes are exceedingly strong, of the people of the two parks, many are from his former multitudes. If we now with the righteousness of public song, push forward Ji as ruler, then the multitudes of the two parks exhaustively will be ours. After overcoming the city, we slowly further plot against him.

Xiang considered it doable. At night they burnt Guang's Hongfan Gate, the multitudes of the two parks all adhering to them, and Xiang making the interior obey. The affair got out, and Guang executed him. Nun thereupon took possession of the Eastern Park to accordingly rebel. Guang hurried to send a summons to Zuan. The various generals urged Zuan, saying:

When Ye hears the host has turned around, he will surely follow in the army's rear. Suppose the host  secretly return in the night, the masses will be without worries for the rear.

Zuan said:

Ye, though relying on the city to obstruct the masses, is without talent for manly plans. Suppose we return in the night, we will trap his treacherous aspirations.

He therefore dispatched envoys to inform Ye, saying:

Guo Nun is making chaos, I am now returnign to the capital. If Sir is able to decide, he can set out and fight.

And so he pulled out and returned. Ye did not dare to set out. Zuan's Marshal Yang Tong spoke to his senior cousin Huan, saying:

Guo Nun is enlightened and good in astronomy, raising troops he accepts possession accordingly [?]. Outside of the Imperial City, nothing again is possessed by the imperial court. Zuan now return to the capital, how can he again make repairs!

Tong requests to remove Zuan, direct troops to push forward elder brother as Master of the Covenant, to the west attack Lü Honh and, occupy Zhangye to thereby call out orders to the various commanderies, likewise a thousand years in a single season.

Huan angrily said:

I have heard in the affairs a lord's person of the subject and son [?],l there is neglect without the two. I [“We”?] originally had the model of Baoxu  being of help [?]. How can we calmly glorify in his emoluments, with chaos adding to his difficulties! Suppose the Lü lineage is defeated, I will be vast and spread out [?].

Tong was afraid. When they arrived at Fanhe, he thereupon fled to Guo Nun. Nun dispatched an army to meet Zuan at Baishi. Zuan was greatly defeated. Guang's Grand Warden of Xi'an, Shi Yuanliang, led 5 000 infantry and cavalry to hurry to the difficulties. He and Zuan struck Nun's army together and routed it. Thereupon they entered Guzang.

At Nun's rebellion, he obtained 8 of Guang's grandson in the Eastern Park. When his army was defeated, his anger was considerable, he altogether threw them on top of spear points and blades, their limbs cut off and their joints disjointed, drinking the blood to swear to the multitudes. The multitudes all shut their eyes, and could not bear to look at it. Nun leisured himself as such [?].

[Nun?] pushed forward the General of the Rear, Yang Gui as Master of the Covenant. Gui titled himself Great General, Shepherd of Liang province and Duke of Xiping. Lü Zuan struck Nun's general Wang Fei west of the city, greatly routing him. After this, Nun's power gradually declined. Guang bequeathed to Yang Gui a letter saying:

Since the Qiang and Hu are not peaceful, Guo Nun a rebellious traitor, the southern hinterlands are not calm, a voice asking to cut in two [?]. Hearsay from travellers, speak of Sir embracing pressuring the hundred families, and being the lips and teeth of Nun.

Sir is elegant, determined, loyal and virtuous, has the fidelity of Clerk Yu, perceiving and examining success and defeat, far reaching in the same way as the ancients. How could you listen to and accept treachery, thereby damaging the great beauty! The frost on the hill does not wither the pines and cypresses, the approaching difficulties do not move the lord's sons. Why plan for the pines and cypresses to wither in a little frost when the chickens cry already at the rain in the air!

Guo Nun is a shaman divining small numbers. At the time someone made a mistake in the middle, the great principles of the examinations, leading many with hollow errors. We are administering and reforming a solitary region, the marshes do not reach the distance [?], presenting the affairs of the generation in disorder and confusion, a hundred cities departing in rebellion. Uniting our strength as a single heart, together aiding the great sea, [We?] look for it from Sir [?].

Now the accumulate millet within the granaries are several billions. A single of the fighting soldiers of the eastern people undertake more than a hundred. If entering, he smiles soft and soothing, if setting out he martially strolls Liang province. He swallows Nun and chews Ye, unruffled having spare time remaining.

Although [We] and Sir appear even as lord and subject, in our hearts it goes beyond father and son. [We] desire to maintain Sir's fame and moderation, not sending to bequeath smiles about to come [?].

Gui did not reply, but led 20 000 infantry and cavalry to hurry north to Guo Nun. When he arrived at Guzang, he walled up to the north of the city. Gui, due to the abundance of soldiers and horses, discussed his desire to greatly decide success or defeat. Nun always used astronomy to discipline him. Lü Hong was pressured by Duan Ye, and Guang dispatched Lü Zuan to receive him. Gui planned with the multitudes, saying:

Lü Hong's spirited troops are 10 000. Suppose he and Guang combine, then the enemy will be strong and us weak. [If we] rearing the beast and do not punishing, it is about to be a later worry.

Thereupon he led the troops to intercept Zuan. Zuan struck and defeated him. Guo Nun heard Gui was defeated, and ran east to Wei'an, and thereupon fled to Qifu Qiangui. Yang Gui heard Nun had ran, and fled south to Lianchuan.

Guang was very ill, and established his son Shao as Heavenly King, titling himself Great Highest August Emperor. He used Lü Zuan as Grand Commandant and Lü Hong as Minister over the Masses. He spoke to Shao, saying:

My illness is only increasing, [I] fear it is about be not curable. Three robbers peep through the door, frequently waiting for the state to have cracks. I am finally considering [my] descendants, making Zuan command the Six Armies, Hong conducting court and government affairs. You respectfully do nothing yourself [?]. Delegate heavily to your two elder brothers, they will many time be of aid [?]. Suppose within you second guess each other, quarrelling rising in the solemn screen, then the alteration of Jin and Zhao dawn and evening will arrive.

He also spoke to Zuan and Hong, saying:

Yongye's talents are not in sweeping away chaos, it is just due to the principle of legal wife being commonplace, sundry residing at the inaugural head [?]. Now outside there are strong rebels, the people's hearts are not at ease. If you brothers are sewn up majestically, then bequeath it for ten thousand generations. Suppose within you plot against each other, then calamity will not turn on its heel.

Zuan and Hong wept and said:

We do not dare be disloyal.

Guang accordingly died in Emperor An's 3rd Year of Long'an [399 AD]. At the time he was 63 years old, and had been on the throne for 10 years. His bogus posthumous title was Laudable and Martial [yiwu] August Emperor, his temple title was Grand Founder [taizu], his tomb was titled Gaoling [“Lofty Mound”].