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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

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Fire and Light (ao3) - on tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

- Chapter 7 -

There was an incident at the Cloud Recesses.

Nie Mingjue offered to go deal with it, and Wen Ruohan was so busy laughing at the sheer absurdity of the idea that he allowed Wen Xu to go in his stead, which was what they had all been hoping for. Nie Huaisang had come up with the idea of the staggered offer; he was surprisingly adept at predicting how Wen Ruohan would behave, which secretly worried Nie Mingjue more than a little.

(The plan did result in a few more ‘walks’, Wen Ruohan being temporarily reminded of Nie Mingjue’s existence, and Nie Huaisang was so upset by that side-effect that he wanted to resign from making any more plans in the future. That wasn’t plausible, of course, given where they lived, but Nie Mingjue would happily suffer a little if it meant that his little brother wouldn’t turn too scheming as a result of his success.)

Wen Xu returned a while later with a letter in his hand and a twitch in his eye that refused to go away for a while. He was of a nervous disposition, whether naturally or because of how he was raised, and his anxiety was only made worse by stress – the Nightless City, unfortunately, being full of stress. Wen Qing said that he used to be cruel and vicious, obtaining relief from his own pain only by hurting others; she said, with a little too much perspicuity given her age, that it was the inevitable result of his having found out long ago that there was no consequence to his actions and, moreover, that his meanness was the only quality of his of which his father seemed to approve. Nie Mingjue hadn’t seen much of that, except maybe for some arrogance in the beginning, but Wen Qing had rolled her eyes at him when he said as much, saying that of course he hadn’t seen it, it’d been different ever since Nie Mingjue showed up.

Why that made a difference, Nie Mingjue had no idea. He hadn’t done anything, or at least he hadn’t done it intentionally.

“What happened?” he asked. “Is –”

“A-Chao is fine, no thanks to Wen Zhuliu,” Wen Xu said, grinding his teeth in a way that would probably hurt his jaw and require copious amounts of Wen Ning’s medicinal soup later to ease the soreness and strain. “We were right about him trying to get A-Chao kicked out of the Cloud Recesses and dependent on him.”

“More brothels?”

“I wish. A-Chao has been refusing to go to them –”

According to the letters Nie Mingjue has seen from both Wen Chao himself and Lan Xichen, his reaction has been to all but burst into tears at the very thought – Wen Xu’s impassioned speech had apparently made a rather large dent in his impressionable psyche. He wouldn’t even risk walking thought a red-light district at night out of concern that he might succumb to some previously unknown predatory instinct and then die horribly as a consequence.

“– so Wen Zhuliu, shall we say, creatively interpreted his refusal into being a fear of disease.”

“I mean, it is a fear of disease,” Wen Qing said dryly. “Disease is how you scared him. With the information from my books, no less.”

“No, you don’t –” Wen Xu waved his hands, looking distressed. More distressed than usual, even. “On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t be talking about this with you lot. You’re all far too young. Mingjue, you understand what I mean?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Nie Mingjue said blankly. “You haven’t even said anything yet.”

“He’s saying that Wen Zhuliu brought A-Chao a girl he could be certain wasn’t diseased,” Nie Huaisang said, his nose wrinkled. “Let me guess, the ‘incident’ in question was A-Chao being accused of rape? Probably someone young?”

“How did you figure that out?” Wen Xu demanded.

“I read a lot of pornography,” Nie Huaisang said. “Some of it involves less savory subjects.”

“Did I know you were reading about less savory subjects?” Nie Mingjue demanded, a little appalled. “Huaisang, everything we said about A-Chao being too young applies to you too, you know –”

“I read it for the art, da-ge. And the insight into what people like when they think other people aren’t looking; it’s surprisingly transferable to the rest of life. Anyway, since you’re here without A-Chao, I take it that he got out of it?”

“When he saw the girl lying in his bed, he remembered all of Mingjue’s scolding,” Wen Xu said. “He immediately ran out to find an adult to assist him. He’d been dosed with something to make him more susceptible - you know what I mean, that sort of thing, but also something to make him dizzy and forgetful, probably so he wouldn’t know for sure if he’d done it or not - but luckily he found a Lan who recognized it.”

“A Lan that knows something about drugs? That’s the most implausible part of everything you’ve said so far.”

Nie Mingjue poked Wen Qing in the forehead for excess cynicism.

“Not only did he know about it, he was able to eliminate the effects while preserving evidence regarding it,” Wen Xu said, sounding begrudgingly impressed. “His testimony of A-Chao’s innocence is rather unimpeachable.”

“What did he do, run to Teacher Lan?” Wen Ning asked, eyes wide. He’d been inexplicably terrified of Lan Qiren ever since they’d met briefly at a discussion conference – apparently Lan Qiren had imparted some wise words and Wen Ning had said something stupid in response, and now he wanted to dig himself into a giant pit any time the man’s name was so much as mentioned.

“Oh no,” Wen Xu said. “That’s the best part of this story, actually. This whole thing happened in the middle of the night, a dark one with barely any moon, and you know how A-Chao is with directions –”

“Tell him something he wants is the next town to the east and he’ll immediately go to the west, south and north before he makes it.”

“He got lost,” Nie Mingjue guessed. “And ended up…where? With who?”

“Qingheng-jun.”

The entire room simultaneously buried their faces in their hands.

“He intruded on Sect Leader Lan’s seclusion,” Nie Huaisang moaned. “The seclusion that’s been going on for nearly twenty years. Because of course he did, that’s our A-Chao for you. Oh, Lan Wangji is going to kill me…”

“You’re still in contact?” Nie Mingjue asked, surprised.

“We exchange letters, it’s no big deal. Tell me more about what happened – did they actually have to get Qingheng-jun to testify?”

“Oh yes, the family made a big stink about it. They wanted to get the girl married in as a concubine or the sect to pay out; they weren’t exactly happy when all the doctors confirmed that she was still pure. They even accused the doctors of being paid off! Lan sect doctors!”

“What did you do with Wen Zhuliu?”

“He claimed he had no idea how it happened. Somehow while also implying that I was being unnecessarily overzealous in A-Chao’s defense, since there’s nothing that unusual about taking a concubine – as if everyone wouldn’t understand it as being all but an outright admission that he was a rapist! I pretended I believed that he wasn’t responsible for the whole thing - he was, of course - and told him that if something like this happened on his watch without his knowledge, he was clearly a piece of shit bodyguard that ought to be replaced.”

“I bet he liked that!”

“I want to learn archery,” Wen Ning said.

“You already know archery,” Nie Mingjue said, ruffling his hair. “You’re very good at archery.”

“Not in public I’m not.” Wen Ning firmed up his jaw. “I want to be good enough at archery that I can win honor for the Wen sect when the main competition is archery.”

“That won’t be until the next time we host,” Wen Xu pointed out. “Which is years from now. You’ll be sixteen – no, seventeen by then.”

“Ancient,” Nie Mingjue, who was about that age himself, said solemnly. “Doddering. Almost decrepit. The only thing worse would be if you were twenty and on your way to twenty-one –”

Wen Xu glared.

“I’m serious,” Wen Ning insisted. “Everyone else has a talent. Why not me?”

“All right, then,” Nie Mingjue said, because mentioning how good a cook of medicinal cuisine Wen Ning was would clearly not be appropriate at this juncture. Lots of boys eventually wanted to learn a martial skill, no matter where their real talents might lie. He might have even said all boys, except of course there was always Nie Huaisang to be the glaring exception to the rule. “We’ll adjust your training regime, invite some specialized tutors…”

Wen Ning was shaking his head. “I want to go to the Jiang sect.”

“What?”

“They always win, don’t they? Maybe they lose out on first place to the Lan sect, with their arm strength, or by some fluke to someone else, but if they have a strong contestant, they win, and even when they don’t win they always place. It’s the best place to go learn.” He shrugged. “Anyway, it’s not like I’m going to get invited to the Cloud Recesses.”

Nie Mingjue had half a dozens protests on his lips, and they all died at once. It was true. Wen Ning would not be invited to study at Gusu, possessing neither an exceptional talent for some facet of learning nor a family willing to push him in. Nie Huaisang would go without question on the basis of Lan Qiren’s former friendship with their father, assuming Wen Ruohan would allow it, and Wen Qing, only interested in the study of medicine, had recently started corresponding with various medicine halls and could maybe get an internship somewhere. She’d been talking recently about Lanling, and though he’d objected to that on the basis of Jin Guangshan, the whole world would welcome a promising doctor.

Only Wen Ning would be trapped here, in the Nightless City.

(With Nie Mingjue, who could not leave, because he wasn’t broken enough yet. Who might not ever be, might live and die without ever being allowed out any further than a closely supervised night hunt, like a bird in a cage.)

Nie Mingjue didn’t especially like the idea of staying here in the Nightless City alone, but his own interests had never been as important as those he could protect. Unlike him, Wen Ning had a future, a life of his own, to look forward to, and so Nie Mingjue looked at Wen Xu. “Do you think…?”

Wen Xu made a face. “I’m not sure,” he said, frowning at Wen Ning in a way that Nie Mingjue knew meant something to Qishan Wen minds because of the way that Wen Ning ducked his head in embarrassment. “They don’t normally take outside students the way that the Lan sect does. I guess we could ask, though, using the way the Lan sect blew up as a cover.”

“They’re readjusting,” Nie Mingjue corrected, trying to be diplomatic. “Qingheng-jun was in seclusion for such a long time – it’s a big change for them for him to come out. For his sons, especially.”

He wished that he could write to Lan Xichen. Not because he had something intelligent to say about it, but more so that he could listen to all the emotions Lan Xichen was undoubtedly trying to suppress – Nie Mingjue couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling. His father, locked away for so long so as to be little more than a myth, suddenly and abruptly brought back to life –

Perhaps it was better that they didn’t write. Given what had happened to Nie Mingjue’s own father, Lan Xichen would probably refrain from saying anything at all.

“In other words, they blew up,” Wen Xu said dryly. “I’ll write to the Jiang sect and make some inquiries, not naming any names. If we get their approval, we can figure out how best to petition Father. He’ll like that angle, though; winning honor…Huaisang came up with that, did he?”

Nie Mingjue was going to protest, but Wen Ning nodded.

“I figured. We’re still going to adjust your schedule, start getting you ready – we need to make it believable.”

“Why does it have to be believable if it’s true?” Nie Mingjue asked, looking from one to the other. “Why would A-Ning do something if he doesn’t want to do it?”

“I do want to do it!” Wen Ning exclaimed, his little face red but determined. “I want to do it really badly, Mingjue-ge. Really.”

“All right, then,” Nie Mingjue said, convinced despite his suspicion that they were up to something – but then, they were always up to something, and he was usually not included.

For very good reason, and at his own request.

“All right,” he said again. “If you want it, then we’ll find a way.”

“Tell me everything you know,” Wen Ruohan murmured. “And it can stop.”

For today, he meant. A fool’s promise, false gold, worthless – meaning nothing.

Nie Mingjue talked anyway.

Wen Chao arrived home from the Cloud Recesses, to everyone’s joy, and even managed, with some hurrying, to make it back a week before Wen Ning was scheduled to set out.

“I brought wine for everyone!” he announced.

“You did not,” Nie Mingjue said sternly, though he wasn’t quite able to stop himself from smiling.

“Okay, okay, I got gifts for everyone. But I also brought wine, if you want some – it’s called Emperor’s Smile, you’ll like it –”

“Forget the wine,” Nie Mingjue said. “You’ve grown!”

He had – at least half a hand’s worth, and his face was starting to show the curves of adulthood, despite the considerable baby fat remaining.

“I’ve grown?” Wen Chao laughed. “Look who’s talking!”

Everyone laughed, even Nie Mingjue, who ducked his head – it wasn’t his fault that he kept on growing. His father had been especially tall, and his mother even more so; it was to be expected!

Admittedly, it wouldn’t hurt to start slowing down a little. Any time now.

“Yes, well, I grow any more and your father will chop me off at the ankles,” he said, shaking his head. Wen Ruohan seemed torn between pleasure at having such a hulking beast tamed at his feet – his words – and irritation that Nie Mingjue would shortly be able to look down at him. “Tell us about your studies, A-Chao. Did you make any friends?”

“Did you pass?” Nie Huaisang asked.

“Of course I passed! And I only cheated once –”

Nie Mingjue covered his eyes and groaned dramatically.

“When I go, I’m going to cheat all the time,” Nie Huaisang announced.

Nie Mingjue aimed for an even more dramatic groan.

“And you probably won’t pass even if you do,” Wen Qing put in.

Now it was Nie Huaisang’s turn to moan. “Has anyone ever told you that your tongue is as sharp and piercing as your needles, A-Qing?”

“No. You want me to demonstrate why?”

“Help! Help! Have mercy!”

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #wen xu #wen chao #wen ning #wen qing #my fic #my fics #fire and light

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onceinabluehanguangjun · 4 years ago

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ao3

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“Isn’t my entire life just a series of me doing you favors?”

Wei Ying grinned wildly as Wen Qing glared a hole into his face, as per usual. Neither of them broke until her little brother, Wen Ning, quietly laughed at them with his eyes on the cup of tea in his hand. Wen Qing softened almost immediately and Wei Ying stuck his tongue out.

“What do you need, Qingqing?”

Wen Qing rolled her eyes, but she sat up a little straighter to sell whatever favor she needed from him.

“You know how my school does little carnival-esque fundraisers where everyone sets up a booth and shit?” she asked. Wei Ying nodded.

“Because they’re stupid rich and somehow wanna suck even more money from their students, including the ones who are there on scholarship, yes, I know how it does that.”

“Exactly,” Wen Qing agreed, taking a deep breath, “My group‒just me and a couple of other scholarship students‒decided to do a kissing booth because they’ve done well in the past years and I’m not trying to get on the dean’s bad side.”

“Oooh, a kissing booth? How shameless! Do you need me to do your makeup so you get more willing participants?” Wei Ying teased. Wen Qing stared at him blankly until he laughed and gestured for her to continue.

“I need your help finding someone to, like, be the face and do all the kissing. Someone rich people will want to pay to kiss. I need a guy, Mianmian’s already agreed to take one for the team,” Wen Qing said. Wei Ying’s smile slowly found his face.

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it.”

“That’s not at all where I was‒”

“I understand, I’m irresistible! And I’m a great kisser, so they’ll probably even come back for seconds,” Wei Ying insisted, sitting back. Wen Ning was back to suppressing his laughter.

“You don’t shut up long enough for anyone to kiss you,” Wen Qing said, “I was hoping for you to ask Lan Zhan, maybe.” Wei Ying scoffed.

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying repeated. He thought of his rigid next-door neighbor that he all but forced to be his best friend. He went to her ridiculous school and was one of the rich ones. Not that he wasn’t smart enough to get there on scholarship, but he had the money. Still, the idea of him at a kissing booth was laughable. “Lan Zhan would be terrible at that!”

“Why? He’s conventionally attractive, that’s what we need,” Wen Qing insisted.

“First of all, conventionally attractive sounds like an insult to him,” Wei Ying said, ignoring the way she took a deep breath of annoyance, “Second of all, he’s the most uptight person ever! I don’t think he kisses people. Or ever plans to. I can’t imagine him kissing anyone without being extremely uncomfortable and deciding never to do it again.”

“You can’t imagine him kissing anyone?” Wen Qing asked slowly, raising a dubious eyebrow. Wei Ying shook his head.

“No! He doesn’t even like being touched, why would want to kiss anyone? Silly suggestion. I’ll do great! Much better than he would,” Wei Ying said firmly. Wen Qing shook her head.

“I know you, you won’t like doing that.”

“What do you mean? I’m going to love it! Kissing rich randoms all day sounds awesome. Besides, maybe one of them can fall in love with me and I’ll have a sugar daddy. Or mommy. I’m not picky at this point,” Wei Ying insisted. Wen Qing closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Come on! Let me do it!”

“If you agree to this, you realize you can’t go back on it? You have to actually commit, you can’t chicken out,” Wen Qing insisted. Wei Ying gasped playfully, putting his hand over his heart.

“How dare you insinuate I’m not reliable! Ning-di, tell your sister I’m the most reliable person she’s ever met,” Wei Ying said. Wen Ning looked up with wide, doe eyes when he realized he was being dragged into the conversation. He looked between the two of them.

“Ying-ge did help me finish my project last week,” he said, “And every other project. And made sure it didn’t break on the way to school.”

“See! Reliable!”

“Helping my brother with homework is one thing, you kissing a bunch of people without panicking is another thing,” she said.

“Why would I panic?” Wei Ying scoffed.

Sure, he was almost 18 and hadn’t had his first kiss yet, but that was normal. Besides, what better way to get your first kiss over with than in the least sexy and most clinical way possible? It’d be like a practice round and when he had his first real kiss, then he’d be even better at it than he knew he already would be.

Still, Wen Qing fixed him with a look.

“Alright, fine. But when you freak out, you’re still gonna go through with it. See you next week.”

Wei Ying snorted as she stood up and he leaned towards Wen Ning.

“She loves me.”

“Yeah,” Wen Ning agreed. Wei Ying’s smile was a lot more genuine as he sat back in his chair, his cheeks tinted a bit red at the casualness of it. He was younger than him by a few years, barely 15 and ridiculously shy. But he wasn’t shy about how much he enjoyed Wei Ying’s friendship and that always threw him for a loop. “Bye, Ying-ge.”

“Bye! Text me if you need homework help,” he said, sending them off with a wave.

Wei Ying was left alone for just long enough to get a bit antsy with not much to do other than stare at his phone. However, Lan Zhan came to the rescue, as per usual, and filled the empty seat.

“Lan Zhan! How was orchestra practice?” Wei Ying asked, leaning forward. Lan Zhan, with his perfect posture and his cute little uniform and his adorable little curtain bangs, sat his bag in the chair beside him and carefully took a sip of the tea he’d ordered.

“Fine,” he said simply. Wei Ying nodded.

“That’s good. You just missed Wen Ning and Wen Qing, they were here. Oh, she mentioned that fundraiser. What booth are you doing?” he pressed. Lan Zhan looked at him through his eyelashes over the cup, momentarily making eye contact. Warmth bloomed in Wei Ying’s chest. He always felt special when Lan Zhan made eye contact with him. It reminded him that they really were friends and Lan Zhan didn’t hate him.

“No booth,” he answered, “Uncle agreed to simply donate the required amount so I wouldn’t have to attend.”

“Of course, of course,” Wei Ying said. He knew Lan Zhan wasn’t really a fan of crowds, so that made sense. “But, ah, well, I’ll be there, so maybe you’ll come by anyway?”

“You’ll be there?” Lan Zhan asked, slowly putting his cup down. Wei Ying smiled and nodded, leaning forward even more.

“Yeah, Wen Qing needed a guy to do the kissing booth,” Wei Ying said. Lan Zhan blinked a few times and his eyebrows raised.

“A kissing booth?”

“Yes!”

“And you will be… doing the kissing?” he asked. He had a similarly skeptical tone in his voice to Wen Qing and Wei Ying couldn’t help but make a hurt noise.

“Why does everyone think so little of me? I can kiss strangers with no problem!”

“Mn.”

“Lan Zhan!”

Lan Zhan kept his eyes on the table as he took another sip of tea. Wei Ying was really interested to know what about it made it seem so impossible that he would be willing to kiss strangers. Did he really seem that innocent and inexperienced? He clearly needed to work on the vibe he was giving off.

“It seems,” Lan Zhan said, pausing for a long moment as his grip tightened on his cup, “Unsanitary.”

“Ah, I’ll buy a whole bottle of mouthwash for the day, how’s that?” he says.

“Mn.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying called, leaning even further to the point his head was almost on the table and his arms were stretched out. Lan Zhan wasn’t smiling, but it was very close. His features had gone all soft and Wei Ying highly considered pinching his cheek. “You and Wen Qing are so mean to me. Can’t I have enough confidence to kiss half the girls in your school for money?”

Lan Zhan blinked slowly in that way that drove Wei Ying just a bit insane. He moved and spoke so slow sometimes. Wei Ying was convinced if he was anyone else, Lan Zhan would never be able to hold his attention. He even had to listen to podcasts on 1.5x speed just so he wouldn’t lose interest.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan said.

Wei Ying slumped in his chair and groaned.

“I’m going to prove it to you and Wen Qing that I’m entirely capable of pulling this off.”

“Alright.”

Wei Ying glared at him, but it didn’t last long. It was hard to glare at him for long. Instead, he sighed dramatically and took out his earbuds, the wire hanging as he held one of them out to Lan Zhan. He accepted it and slowly put it in his ear as Wei Ying put the other in his. They had to lean a bit into the counter to share, but they’d been doing this nearly every day for as long as Wei Ying could remember.

“This episode’s on King Leopold II.”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying was fine.

Every day leading up to the kissing booth, he’d been fine. Wen Qing had texted him and reminded him that he couldn’t back out and he would say, ‘why would I want to?!’ and he was serious. This would be fine.

But now that he was set to be there in two hours, he was starting to lose his nerve.

“Jiejie, do I look alright?” Wei Ying asked for what was probably the billionth time. Jiang Yanli looked up from her laptop and gave him a very thoughtful look so he wouldn’t call her out for just saying he looked good without thought.

“You look very handsome.”

“Handsome? I don’t need to look handsome, I need to look hot.”

“A-Ying, I think you’re going to have a line of people wanting to kiss you,” she insisted. Wei Ying sighed, dragging his body over to her. He fell to her bed dramatically and let himself indulge in the sound of her amused laughter as he dropped his head to her shoulder. “What’s wrong, A-Ying?”

He sighed, “Have you ever kissed anyone, Jiejie?”

“Yes,” she answered easily. He tried not to let the instinctive face of disgust take over.

“Do you think any of the girls will know I’ve never kissed anyone?”

“Well, probably not because it’ll be short kisses, won’t they? They’ll be none the wiser,” she said. Wei Ying still managed a pout.

“Will you beat them up if they laugh at me?”

“Of course I will,” Jiang Yanli laughed softly, her hand reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear. Wei Ying nodded and tried to calm his mind down with her presence.

He was sad to see that it only helped a little bit.

“I’m gonna go change into something hotter,” he said. Jiang Yanli laughed and nodded.

“Alright. Don’t leave without a goodbye.”

“I won’t.”

Wei Ying made his way into his room and looked at himself in the mirror hanging on his closet. He’d left his hair down because he thought maybe he looked edgy, but he was beginning to think it was just a recipe for disaster. If he left it down, he’d just mess with it the entire time. He raked it into a messy ponytail and pulled a bit down to frame his face. His nails scraped over the shaved sides and wondered if those should be touched up too.

Instead of thinking too much about that, Wei Ying quickly changed his shirt again. This time he tried a black button-up which he stopped buttoning when the top four were undone. He stared at himself and buttoned another one and then stared at himself and then unbuttoned it.

“Why do I care so much? I’m never going to see these girls again. This is totally useless, this is just for practice,” he grumbled to himself, though he could already feel his face getting warmer and warmer by the minute. It was all fine when it was just a thing he agreed to. Now that he actually had to do it, well…

“Wei Ying?”

Wei Ying nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard his name, spinning around with his hand over his heart. Lan Zhan stood there in the doorway, hands neatly behind his back. There were many times in life where Wei Ying was happy to see him, but this was easily one of his favorites. He needed a distraction and Lan Zhan was good at that.

“Warn a man next time, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying said, though he was thankful for being startled. For a moment, his head emptied.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan said, taking a step inside his bedroom.

“What are you doing here? Not that I don’t like seeing your face, but I figured you’d be spending the evening curled up with a good book or, or a movie. Or a new K-Drama, maybe. Something other than thinking about the lame fundraiser. Super lame, you know,” Wei Ying rambled.

Lan Zhan nodded and his hand reached out the grab the edge of the door. Wei Ying’s eyes followed it as he closed it, leaving the two of them in the room alone. He could count on one hand how many times they’d been in a closed space completely alone. Somehow it made his throat feel dry. Though, that might be him freaking out about the kissing booth still.

“Wen Qing asked me to check on you,” Lan Zhan said, “To make sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine,” Wei Ying said, standing up straighter, “She needs to learn to stop babying me. I’m a grown man.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan hummed, his hands returning to the space behind his back as he took a step closer, “So I should tell her you aren’t worried.”

“I’m not! I’m fine!” Wei Ying said and if his voice was a bit higher than normal, so what.

Lan Zhan took a step back.

“Mn. I was going to help you relax, but if you’re relaxed, then I’ll go,” he said. It was bait and Wei Ying knew it was bait, but he couldn’t help himself but call out.

“Wait,” he said, pulling at the hem of his shirt, “What were you gonna do? Like, in case I was nervous.”

Wei Ying would never say it, but there was something about Lan Zhan that made his mind a bit easier. He seemed to quiet some of the noise just by being there. Yes, he spoke slow and moved slow, but that forced Wei Ying’s brain to do the same.

Lan Zhan took a step forward again.

“I was going to say that kissing isn’t that complicated,” he said. Wei Ying rolled his eyes.

“How would you know?” Lan Zhan’s eyebrow raised and Wei Ying’s stomach plummeted as it came to his attention that perhaps he’d been wrong about that. Lan Zhan took another step closer to him. Wei Ying swallowed. “I have a confession to make, Lan Zhan.”

“Mn.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone,” he said. Saying it out loud just made him feel even more nervous. “And now I feel stupid and like I’m going to embarass myself. All those girls have probably kissed a ton of guys and they’d be paying money just for me to let them down and then I’ll let Wen Qing down because they’ll tell their friends that it wasn’t that good. Then I’m going to have to come up with a way to pay for her share of the donation because it’ll be‒”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said, voice low and smooth and distracting.

“What?”

“Wei Ying,” he repeated, taking another step closer.

Wei Ying’s eyes shifted between his close proximity and the closed door. Lan Zhan’s hand moved from behind his back to reach up and gently place on Wei Ying’s jaw. His mind started spinning with a whole new wave of thoughts.

“Oh,” Wei Ying said seconds before Lan Zhan closed the space between them.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to happen‒mainly because what the fuck‒but Wei Ying found himself shocked when it lasted longer than a couple seconds like he was sure the kissing booth kisses were going to be. Instead, Lan Zhan tilted his head and parted his lips just a little, just enough to slot perfectly around Wei Ying’s bottom lip to give it a little kiss of its own. He then pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth and then another peck right on his lips before pulling back.

Wei Ying stood there, frozen as he stared at Lan Zhan with wide eyes. He hadn’t realized he wanted to do that.

“Close your eyes, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan instructed softly.

“Well, wait, are you gonna do that again?” Wei Ying asked. Lan Zhan got that whole soft-faced thing again and nodded, so Wei Ying promptly shut his eyes.

They were the same height so there truly was no reason for Lan Zhan to touch his chin and tilt his head up, but it certainly made things a bit more fun. Lan Zhan kissed him again, parting his lips again much sooner and Wei Ying followed suit. He mimicked the way Lan Zhan moved, hoping that it wasn’t too embarrassing and somehow not giving a shit even if it was. It was good.

And then Lan Zhan pushed his tongue past Wei Ying’s lips.

Wei Ying gasped in response, moving back just a little and Lan Zhan immediately stopped. He opened his eyes and made eye contact with him, up close and personal.

“You, like, actually know what you’re doing, don’t you?” Wei Ying asked.

“Mn.”

“Who have you been kissing, Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying teased, feeling a bit more than giddy. He pushed himself onto his toes and draped his arms around his neck. Lan Zhan had to tilt his head back just a bit to maintain eye contact and Wei Ying was enamored. “Wait, wait, don’t talk, just keep going.”

“Mn.”

Lan Zhan met his lips again, his tongue immediately pressing into his mouth and this time Wei Ying was expecting it. It was a little weird, but it was nothing he couldn’t adjust to. Nothing he wanted to stop. Especially not when Lan Zhan easily held the brunt of his weight the more he pressed into his personal space, causing him to arch his back as he did so.

His hands slid down to Wei Ying’s hips, giving them a small squeeze as he tugged him closer. Wei Ying continued to mimic him‒copying the way his tongue moved, the way his teeth grazed his lips, the way he didn’t mind if it got a little messy and a little gross. It would probably be gross with anyone else.

It was all normal until Wei Ying made a needy little noise that he hadn’t intended. He could feel his face grow warm and he considered pulling back, but Lan Zhan’s hand moved back to his jaw and he kissed him deeper. Then Lan Zhan started backing him up until his legs hit his bed.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying gasped, trying to catch his breath as he broke the kiss. Lan Zhan’s eyes opened again and met him.

“Wei Ying,” he said.

Wei Ying tightened his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck, finding himself quite desperate to keep him in his grasp. Lan Zhan obliged by not even trying to leave as his hand rubbed up and down his side mindlessly. He wanted to stare at him forever.

“Lan Zhan, why’d you do that?” Wei Ying asked after he was back to breathing normally. Or, as normally as he could when he was still this close to Lan Zhan. He was pretty sure Lan Zhan could feel his heart thudding in his chest. “Were you just being polite so I wouldn’t embarrass myself?”

Lan Zhan didn’t say a word, didn’t even hum.

“Was it because you’re just a good friend?” Wei Ying asked. Again, no answer. A pout slowly started to form on Wei Ying’s face. “Lan Zhaaan, give me an answer. I need to know!”

Lan Zhan’s eyes trailed away from him and down to the pout on his lips. And then he moved forward and took his pouting lip between his teeth. Wei Ying made a noise in shock, but he didn’t move away as he felt Lan Zhan’s tongue graze his lip. Then he was being kissed again and all of his questions left his head as Lan Zhan all but pushed him onto his bed.

He didn’t care what his motives were, he just didn’t want it to stop.

Lan Zhan hovered over him, leaving a trail of kisses over his cheek and his jaw and then to his neck. Somehow, that was when Wei Ying’s brain actually shut down. His eyes closed and his lips parted as he tried to keep steady breaths, his body all too attuned to the way Lan Zhan kissed and sucked and bit at his neck. There was no reason that should’ve felt as good as it did. It helped that he had his weight on him. All he could feel was Lan Zhan.

“Lan Zhan,” he said, bowing his head into his shoulder and hoping he didn’t minimize Lan Zhan’s target area. He kept his arms around his shoulders, hugging him tight as he did whatever he was doing to his neck. “Ahh, Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan.”

It was all cut short, though, when Wei Ying’s phone started ringing.

He very much wanted to ignore it, wanted to just continue doing this, but Lan Zhan reached for it and handed it to him. His biting and sucking turned into more patient kitten licks, but it was still distracting as all hell.

“What?” Wei Ying asked as he answered the phone, not bothering to see who was calling. He just hoped it wasn’t either of his adoptive parents.

“I’m going to be at your house in two minutes, so be outside,” Wen Qing said. Wei Ying’s eyes widened as he remembered that not only did he have to stop, but he had to kiss other people after this. How the hell was he supposed to do that?

And maybe he finally understood why Wen Qing had been hesitant.

“Okay, yeah, yeah, I’ll be there. See you soon, Qingqing,” he said.

“You too, Wei Ying,” she said back and for once she sounded a bit fond.

The moment the call was over, Wei Ying groaned and kicked his feet childishlessly. Lan Zhan hummed in what seemed to be amusement against his collarbone.

“Lan Zhan, this has ruined me for everyone else this evening, do you understand? How am I supposed to kiss a line of girls after that?” he asked. Lan Zhan moved to prop himself up on his elbow, looking down at Wei Ying. If he wasn’t still pressed up against him, he probably would’ve thrown a fit.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan hummed, his fingers trailing idly up his body and to his neck where he pressed two fingers into a sore spot. Wei Ying furrowed his eyebrows and reached up to feel as well, still damp from Lan Zhan’s kisses. It took a few seconds to put together why it felt that way and his eyes went wide.

“Ahh,” he said, looking up to Lan Zhan, “Everyone’s gonna be able to see that in a few hours, won’t they?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan agreed, the faintest of smiles on his lips, “I’m not.”

“Lan Zhan, you’re so cheeky, I can’t believe it!” Wei Ying laughed, wriggling a bit as he moved to lay on his side so he could be chest to chest with Lan Zhan, “Ah, but I have to go.”

“You do,” he said. Wei Ying pouted again, only slightly hoping that’d lead to more kisses.

“Maybe if I use mouthwash like I said I would, you’ll kiss me like that later? Or, like, tomorrow‒at the latest, just in case I get sick of kissing after the booth,” Wei Ying said.

“Whenever Wei Ying wants,” Lan Zhan agreed. Wei Ying smirked easily, nudging his knee into Lan Zhan’s.

“Ah, don’t say that, you’ll be stuck with me hanging off you like a leech every day for the rest of your life,” Wei Ying teased.

“Alright,” Lan Zhan agreed. Wei Ying immediately felt his face flush and he bowed his head against Lan Zhan’s chest, shaking his head.

“How am I supposed to think straight if you agree to things like that?!” he whined. Lan Zhan hummed.

“Hopefully you won’t.”

“Was that a joke?” Wei Ying asked, lifting his head and laughing easily. Lan Zhan was smiling at him bigger than he ever had before. “Oh, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, stop it, I have to go and you’re making that impossible.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan said, leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to his lips, “Go.”

“And this isn’t the last time we do this, right? Like, I get more Lan Zhan kisses, you promise?” he asked, pushing himself up beginning to crawl over Lan Zhan’s body. He paused to hover over him and make eye contact to make sure this wasn’t just a very intense fever dream.

“Mn.”

“Okay then. I’ll go,” Wei Ying said, climbing off him slowly and taking a few wobbly steps backward. The further away he got, the more he got to take in the picturesque image of Lan Zhan laying in his bed. “And I’ll be back and I’m going to kiss you again.”

“Goodbye, Wei Ying.”

“Bye, Lan Zhan.”

Wei Ying somehow made it out of the front door in one piece, his heart still thudding as he thought about what just happened. He still wasn’t quite sure what it meant between them, but he did know it meant he probably wouldn’t have to worry about kissing too many strangers after this.

When Wen Qing pulled up in her old, beat-up car and he climbed into the passenger side, she gave him a once over.

“Wow,” she said, “You actually don’t look like you’re nervous. Guess Lan Zhan was actually helpful.”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying laughed, touching his bottom lip, “Super helpful.”

#wangxian #wangxian fic #wei wuxian #lan wangji #mdzs #the untamed #my fic

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roaring-rivers-of-the-underworld · 4 years ago

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Funny Enough, I Don't Care

If you could ask Wen Qing one thing she regretted from her younger years in college, she would say nothing. Because she would want a specific portion of her college years to disappear from her mind, and if she talks about it, that won’t happen. Now that Wen Qing had joined this little group of vigilantes, she never had time to think about terrible times in college. Unless someone by the name of Nie Huaisang decided to bring it up.

“Qing-jie, what was your college life like?” They smirk like the giant brat they are, which causes Wen Qing to wonder just how Nie Mingjue deals with that thing living with him.

Wen Ning, who used to be such a good boy, decides that it’s a great time to bring up her worst mistake. “Oh, jie-jie had decided to befriend this one guy, and I can’t believe she stayed friends with him. At least until the point she realized that she, in fact, did not like men. And then left him. It was the best moment of my life.”

“A-Ning!”

“Sorry, not sorry jie.” Wen Ning used to be such a good boy. That was before he met Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang though. Those two are huge problems themselves.

Wei Wuxian looks interested though. And when he gets interested, he won’t stop until he gets his answers. “So, do we know the guy?”

Wen Qing nods as she patches up one of the other men in the room, Lan Wangji. Wen Qing isn’t sure how he got hurt, as he’s the most responsible one among the others. On second thought, Lan Wangji looses all his braincells when it comes to Wei Wuxian so that might be the problem. “Unfortunately, you do. And he’s only gotten worse from schooling.”

From the look of Lan Wangji’s face, it’s clear he has no idea who. Wei Wuxian can’t remember names for crap. Nie Huaisang might be the only one other than Wen Ning who might know the name.

And speaking of the devil, Nie Huaisang decides to bring it up. “Oh, you mean Su She?” Not paying attention to how Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian freeze, they continue speaking. “I heard that he was in medical school for some odd reason. I think it was because he wanted to be better than Xichen-ge, and there’s only one person who can beat Xichen-ge at medicine and that’s you. Su She also really wants to do stuff like we do, be vigilantes and all that. But unfortunately, he’s quite terrible at it. He’s either a) gotten severely hurt, or b) almost or did get caught by police.”

Everyone turns to look at them. “How on earth do you know all of that?” And this is why Huaisang is the group’s general informant. They have a huge ass network of spys.

“I had one of my people who work at the medical school you went to look at the records, and it doesn’t takae an idiot to realize that the guy has a personal problem against Xichen-ge and A-Zhan. And the last portion definitely isn’t from overhearing Su She’s conversation with Jin Guangyao. Totally not.”

Wen Ning laughs quietly, as Wei Wuxian shakes his head. “Jesus, Hausiang. And you say you are useless.”

Wen Qing nods her head as well. “I’m surprised Guangyao allowed you to listen in on his conversations. He can be quite paranoid. Especially after that one incident with Xichen and Mingjue. Oh, speaking of which, where is your brother and Xichen? I thought they were both supposed to be here by now?

As soon as she finishes that sentence, the door opens to a giant tree of a man and his almost as tall tree of a man. “Sorry, there was traffic and a little bit of a problem between groups. Xichen, apparently, has finally realized some things about our dear old friend.”

Huaisang grabs the cup of tea in front of them, the one that has been sitting there for about an hour, and chugs it. “Oof, that must suck. It’s not like anyone tried to tell you.”

Xichen rolls his eyes. “I know, Huaisang. I did bring some new information about their next mission if you want it.”

Mingjue gives him a side-eye as he makes sure the wound Wangji has isn’t that bad. “And why would you share with us that information? You were their doctor, Xichen.”

Xichen takes a seat a nearby table and sighs. “And that was before I realized that they were wanting me to be a part of a murder involving a very dangerous poison and dismemberment”

Wen Qing becomes interested. If this poison affects Xichen this hard, then it might be a part of her expertise. “What poison? And on who?”

Xichen winces, before pulling out a bottle in his jacket. “You might want to hide that. They might be wanting to contact you, as you are also high on the list of people who know how to use that. And that’s their only bottle of it. Who they were going to poison, though. Do I really have to answer?”

Wangji speaks up. “Xiangzhong, if it was bad enough that you quit their team and joined their ‘enemy’ group, then it must be important.”

Xichen glances at Mingjue and once he gets the nod of approval, he speaks. “I was supposed to go have dinner with a man and poison his food when he didn’t notice, because the man can be extremely obvious. Then I was supposed to bring him to the team’s place, kill him, and then dismember him. That would have taken hours because that man can’t sit still and wouldn’t realize what I was doing until an arm was taken off.”

“Hey now. You’re talking about me there. Don’t be so mean.” Mingjue moves over to the fresh teapot and pours himself some tea. “And besides, I have faith that you wouldn’t have done that.”

“Are you fucking serious? Xichen-ge just said that they were trying to kill you. That is extremely important information to know, da-ge.”

Wen Qing stares at the medicine in her hands before sighing. “There is a huge chance that if they had used this against you, Mingjue, nobody would have noticed. This is a great way to kill someone, make it look natural, and then be almost entirely invisible during an autopsy. The only difference would be a bit of muscle tension. And since you are really active, that could be explained as working too hard.”

Mingjue nods. “I know, guys. Why do you think I brought Xichen here. He was a part of the plan until he realized that it was supposed to be me being poisoned.”

“So what’s our plan?”

“We wait.”

~~~~~~~

It was about a week after Xichen had defected from his team when she got the call. Well, more like calls. The number was an unknown one, and seemed to know her schedule really well. And she knows for a fact that it isn’t one of her teammates because they would have told her. Being in this line of business causes people to become extremely paranoid. And paranoia is not a great thing your doctor should have.

“Hey guys? I have something to say.” It was their next meeting, the time when they were about to fully plan what to do with Guangyao and his team.

Mingjue looks at her, a little worried. Normally, Wen Qing would just spit it out, but if she’s a little hesitant, then that can be concerning. “Yeah, go ahead A-Qing.”

“Well, I keep getting calls from this random number. And like that could just be a friend mistyping and missaving someone’s number, but they always call as soon as I’m on break at the hospital or as soon as I get home. One or the either. It seems like they memorized my schedule.”

Wuxian and Wangji stare at each other, having a silent communication. “Do you think that it is entirely a coincidence?”

“Maybe. But if they have memorized my schedule, then they would be calling within the next 5 minutes. This meeting was sort of hastily scheduled and I had called in sick today. If they were relying on the fact that I don’t take sick days, then they’ll call.”

Right on cue, Wen Qing’s phone starts buzzing, and an unknown number pops up.

Xichen sits up. “Oh! That is Su She’s number I believe. I had to have it because he kept getting hurt.”

Mingjue rolls his eyes before nodding at her. “Go ahead. Answer it. Let’s see what they want.”

Wen Qing takes a deep breath before finally answering it. “Hello?”

“Wen Qing! It’s been a while since we’ve talked. Like what, 3 years?”

“It’s been more than that, Su She. But anyway, how are you? What do you need?”

Su She chuckles. The laugh that he thought would interest her. “I heard that you’ve become a great doctor and wanted to congratulate you. I also had a few questions for you.” Wen Qing glances at Mingjue, gauging his reactions. So far, he’s fine. “Go ahead.”

“Well, Wen Qing, A-Yao and I have been talking for a while and decided that you are the chosen one.”

“The chosen one? Su She, this is the modern world. Not Harry Potter.”

“I know, but we would like to have a doctor that has extreme expertise on medical practices and our former doctor wasn’t the best they could have been. A-Yao has mentioned that if you want money working for us, he’d pay you about how much you get at the hospital, for way less hours.”

Wei Wuxian whispers, “At least he knows how to bribe. Do we have her say yes and act as a spy?”

Mingjue shakes his head and whispers back, “No. I know Guangyao. He’ll use A-Ning as a hostage. It’s too dangerous for many people. Wen Qing, decline.”

She nods her head. “Unfortunately, Su She. I am not looking for another job at the moment. You’ll have to find someone else.”

Su She sighs. “Fine. We’ll pay you double the amount and you’ll have access to all the medical equipment you could need.”

“Yeah, uh funny enough, I don’t care. Goodbye.” She hangs up the phone and sets it down. “What do we do with the poison?”

Mingjue and Huaisang share glances before the latter one smiles. “Oh, I have that handled. I’m going to give it to Guangyao later tonight!”

“Huaisang! Why would you give back poison that Xichen stole to protect your brother?”

“Who said that I was going to hand poison over?”

#wen qing #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #lan xichen #wei wuxian #lan wangji #minor wangxian #wen ning #jin guangyao #su she #nonbinary nie huaisang #mentioned past su she/wen qing #vigilante au?#modern au #mentions of murder #mentions of dismemberment #River: streams

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abraxos-the-phantom · 3 years ago

Text

Scum Disciple: Alpha Stage

Alpha, described by google as "...an exploratory phase. Beta means the features have been locked down and are under development (no other features will be added). More commonly: Alpha: Usually the first normally interact-able thing out (private or public use is irrelevant)."

And here are some of the highlights that I liked from the first few versions lol.

Fun Times in Gusu

Lan Xichen walked to quite a strange sight.

While normally he would have greeted the younger Nie with a smile, the image of the famous Wei Wuxian pouting as YunmengJiang’s young master and QingheNie’s second master grinned was a little too ridiculous for him to process without chuckling.

“We both know you aren’t actually going to tell Ming-shixiong,” Nie Huaisang chuckled at the shifted to pat the other.

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian sighed. “I’m worried though.”

Jiang Wanyin had raised his eyebrow, making quite the image as he looked over his crossed arms, “You’re worried about your brother? QingheNie Sect’s Monster Head disciple? The Youngest Rogue Cultivator in the Generations? The Peerless Prodigy? I think you’re a little delusioned Wei Wuxian.”

Wei Wuxian’s nose crumbled at that, “They really call Gēge that? Such lame names.”

“I think brother called him the Crane Dragon once,” Nie Huaisang added. “When you and Ming-shixiong went on a Night Hunt.”

Wei Wuxian shook his head, “Forget it, that’s not what I’m worried about- it’s just. Gēge has never let me on my own like this before. He gets antsy.”

Nie Huaisang pursed his lips, “I can understand but- A-Xian, you’re one of his best students.”

“He just- he gets this look sometimes,” Wei Wuxian sighed. “He doesn’t talk about it but sometimes he looks at me and I’m pretty sure he’s seeing something else. I never asked because he always looks sad after.”

“Didn’t you grow up together?” Nie Huaisang frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ming-shixiong with anyone else besides the three of us but the other disciples.”

“He’s never talked to anyone except father, mother, myself, sister, and some of the disciples at our sect,” Jiang Wanyin said in agreement. “You guys didn’t meet anyone when your Brother was still Rogue?”

Wei Wuxian shook his head in Jiang Wanyin’s direction, expression slightly pinched still, “I wouldn't remember, and I know we’re close- but there’s some stuff I know he hasn’t told me. You guys realize that my brother is nineteen?”

Jiang Wanyin blinked, as well as several other disciples who were not so covertly listening into the conversation about the mysterious prodigal Cultivator of the QingheNie Sect. “He seems much older, I didn’t think anyone knew his actual age.”

Because that was the curiosity wasn’t it, for all that he was well-known, there was never truly anyone who knew Wei Ming, because he would never actually say anything about his past save for vague hints. One could ask Wei Wuxian of course, but the latter had the same result because of the mere fact that Wei Wuxian didn’t know much about his older brother either beyond his personality, likes and dislikes. Any years before Wei Ming had lived with his brother was knowledge he couldn’t even forget because he never knew in the first place. Nie Mingjue never asked, and neither did Nie Huaisang. It took Wei Ying meeting other children to realize that nine-year-olds never talked the way Wei Ming did. They didn’t know facts about monsters, and they certainly never talked about demons. Yet Wei Ming had extensive knowledge since who knows how long, and no one ever questioned it.

Whether that was because Wei Ming knew how to subvert the conversation or because they simply never asked, that was a question no one could really answer. Not even Wei Wuxian, for all that he loved his Gēge, knew where to start.

Sensing the sudden dip in Wei Wuxian’s mood, Nie Huaisang brightened as much as he could, “Well it doesn’t even matter does it? He’s your brother, he’s my teacher- and he scares my brother to boot.”

Wei Wuxian laughed, if a little weakly, “He told me he actually enjoys it a little.”

Jiang Wanyin winced, “Isn’t your brother known to your Sect as the Punisher?”

With an enthusiastic nod from both Nie Sect members, they proceeded to scare everyone else by saying, “300 copies of Consequence, 200 paces across the hills and back in three days and patrolls in three of the Qinghe protected lands by the end of two weeks!”

They silently cackled as the other Sect disciples paled at the prospect.

After gently teasing Wangji of his interaction with Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen bid his brother a good night as he suddenly remembered what he had sought the older Wei out for. The technique he used was quite unique and not among any technique he had some knowledge of, though granted it could purely be because he himself was not well learned in any but the Lan Sect style. Regardless, he was hoping to have a discussion about it and to possibly inquire if the older Wei would use his expertise to critique his own swordsmanship.

He was just about to do just that before he heard an audible thunk and grunt of pain from within the room Wei Ming had been assigned for his stay here.

Lan Xichen abruptly opened the door out of instinct, blinking in surprise to find Wei Ming wielding a brush in his hand and a paper in the other, dark eyes roving the entire wooden table with apprehension.

“Mn?” Wei Ming looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, Zewu-jun. I was under the impression you had retired for the night.”

“I had initially been hoping to discuss swordsmanship with you before,” Lan Xichen looked at the papers, elegant calligraphy lining each and every one save for the large stack of paper at the corner of the table. “I admit, however, that this seems to take my interest far more at the moment.”

“Ah, well.” Wei Ming gestured to the papers. “These are lesson plans, notes if you will- but plans all the same.”

“...Lesson plans?”

Wei Ming nodded seriously, “It’s important for a teacher to understand what they are teaching every day, so as not to leave anything important out.”

“Ah…apologies, considering the subject you are teaching I thought-”

“To be fair, the material I’m teaching does require less theory than practical. Had I been teaching something akin to a bestiary subject or perhaps even medicinal practices, I wouldn’t be as extensive as this,” Wei Ming once again gestured to the large stacks. “This is not the case however, as I am teaching fighting techniques. I also have to come up with tests and exams, sort the students into pairs for sparing purposes, note everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, formulate proper lectures concerning the techniques I am teaching- that sort of thing. Besides the fact that I’m considering adding other techniques so that my students are well informed.”

Though granted the stuff he was doing was easier than when he had been Qing Jing Peak’s head disciple, the paperwork for that Sect was monstrous because of the additional lessons for music and the tactitionary course. Both were a requirement as a disciple of Qing Jing, as they were the main jack of trades within Cang Qiong as their roles were both in support and primary fighters when it came to battles. This was especially true during the pseudo war between Lou Binghe’s forces and during the battle with Tianlang-jun. Shizun would normally do most of the work but with the absence of Lou Binghe, a lot of it arrived to Ming Fan and he didn’t have the heart to inquire about it.

After Binghe’s return Ming Fan just never thought to question it anymore, Shizun was happy and he got used to the workload. It wasn’t as if he never had help either, he took charge of the male disciples while Ning Yingying took charge of the females. After Lou Binghe soon took up some work every now and then; it’s just the way things were after...After.

Wei Ming blinked after returning from his thoughts, “Hundreds of apologies, may Zewu-jun repeat himself?”

Lan Xichen smiled, “Of course, I only wished to ask if you would be open to giving me advice on my swordsmanship? Nie Mingjue mentioned before that your advice had helped him improve his saber technique and I would very much like to also improve myself now that the opportunity is open to me.”

“Or perhaps Xichen-ge would not like to be left behind by his dîdi?” Wei Ming said with an amused smile.

At this Lan Xichen’s ears colored slightly even as he smiled neutrally, “That is also a motivation, but I believe no brother would want their younger brother to leave them behind.”

“Very well, when Zewu-jun is free; we shall spar.” Wei Ming’s lips quirked. “I would also like to know if my observations are correct.”

“Let us have this spar soon Teacher Wei, thank you for your time.” Lan Xichen stood and dipped his head slightly before exiting with a final ‘good night’.

“Gege what are you doing?”

Wei Ming was currently in the Lan Sect library, pouring over old books that amused him and greatly reminded him of some of the brighter moments in his past life. Namely: The Resentment of Chunshan. The book itself was poor in terms of accuracy, but amusing nonetheless. He and the other disciples found themselves horrified and amused by the story described within. Even more so when the Song of BingQiu became popular among the locals.

He was also starring an old map of the land, clearly looked into by someone considering the small hand-written notes in black ink. The penmanship was oddly familiar but Wei Ming couldn’t exactly remember where.

There was also an area circled, the name Cang Qiong Sect written in careful script.

“What do you think?” He asked absentmindedly, fingers brushing over the circled area. It was far from the other Sects, inaccessible due to the mountain ranges that circled it. If one tried, they’d have to do so by climb rather than sword. The air would be thinner; challenging even for a Cultivator.

He vaguely wondered if the land had changed so much as to the sudden growth of mountains around the Cang Qiong Sect area.

“Looks like someone was trying to look for the mythical Cang Qiong Sect,” Wei Ying peered over his brother’s shoulder. Tilting his head at the map. “Weird.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Eh,” Wei Ying shrugged as he sat next to him. “Cause it’s just a legend, no one actually knows if the Cang Qiong Sect is still around. If it ever was around. I mean- demons, the War- it’s described in pretty poetry and details, but other than that- most people write it off as a fantasy since no one’s ever seen it.”

Wei Ming considered the next question carefully, “What do you believe?”

“I think there’s some truth to it,” To himself, Wei Ying vaguely wondered why the sudden inquiry. His brother had no interest in the stories that were normally told to children, he had been busy at the time and Wei Ying only knew of it because the Nie Brothers held a rather large collection of the stories of the illustrious Cang Qiong Sect and one of their most famous Lords: Shen Qingqiu. Nie Huaisang had admitted that most of these were his brother’s, and he himself was promptly amused. Now he was starting to wonder. The stories of the Cang Qiong Sect were often used for the children of Cultivators as lessons, Lan Sect used it too if what was in the library was any indication- it was an impressive collection.

Though it did have nothing on Sect Leader Nie’s secret collection of nearly all the tales of the General from Qing Jing Peak: Huázháo-jun.

“Hm, perhaps,” Wei Ming noted non-committedly, shaking his head. “Let’s talk about what to do for tomorrow.”

“Mn! You should teach-“

[Fun fact about this one up here! In this version of the story, MF brings WWX's body up through the mountains to Cang Qiong Sect in the hopes that he could get help in reviving his brother, thereby re-meeting with his fellow disciples of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect]

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dramas-vs-novels · 4 years ago

Note

Sorry if you've answered this before but I'm curious about the lost tomb. Does one need to watch the other seasons to watch the reboot or whatever the new thing is? I saw gifs from it a couple months back and thought the cast was really pretty but didn't watch because I didn't want to have to watch all that other stuff to get to the pretty boys yanno? Would I be losing out on anything by not watching the other content?

Hum...

So I watched “The Lost Tomb” first, the original season is only 10 episodes long, and then dove immediately into “Reunion”; but since every single character is re-cast between seasons with extremely few exceptions, you still have to learn everyone over again. I did feel like I was missing some stuff, but not to a degree that impacted my viewing.

Um... I’ll make a little character guide for you. Read that and you should be fine::

Wu Xie (Iron Triangle #1)

Wu Xie is the main POV focus. Wu Xie’s great-grandfather began robbing tombs during China’s great famine as a way to feed his family. He left behind The Gravedigger’s Notebook (title of the book series), which catalogues hidden tombs both explored and rumored. It is considered the family’s greatest treasure.

Wu Xie does not rob tombs to make money. He believes in studying their history and secrets, and sort of goes in as an advanced scout before summoning archaeological teams and donating everything inside to museums and such.

In the original “Lost Tomb” series (2015), Wu Xie is poisoned inside a tomb. To save his life, Xiao Ge feeds him something called “Dragon Medicine”- an ancient, rare form of Chinese medicine that grows more potent with age. The piece Wu Xie eats is 3,000 years old, and it causes permanent changes to his DNA. This appears in the story as both Wu Xie’s blood being used to protect others sometimes and whenever someone mentions Wu Xie having “Dragon’s Blood”.

Kylin // Zhang Qiling // Xiao Ge (Iron Triangle #2)

A 100+++ year old tomb raider. Xiao Ge is the patriarch of the most powerful tomb raiding family- though he doesn’t have anything to do with them. His kind are incredibly long lived and he may even be an immortal- so long as he doesn’t die of injury, starvation, cold, etc.

His blood is a deterrent to most of the creepy crawlies in tombs, it can cure some poisons, and he has two fingers on his right hand that are elongated and possess near super strength thanks to an ancient and lost technique.

Xiao Ge often wanders off on his own, but he always appears when Wu Xie is in trouble. For an unknown reason, Xiao Ge has had a couple instances in the past where he as badly injured and lost time or memory entirely, so much of his past is a mystery to him as well.

Wang Pangzi // Fatty (Iron Triangle #3)

Wu Xie’s constant companion and, along with Xiao Ge, one of his best friends. Pangzi was a tomb robber once upon a time, but a couple of raids in a row landed him with Wu Xie, who doesn’t allow him to steal.

Pangzi has friends in low places, but Wu Xie has become the person he is most loyal to. Seriously, they act like an old married couple most of the time. Oh, and Pangzi might have magical abilities like Xiao Ge- no matter how long they’ve been in a tomb or how unprepared they were to enter, he somehow always has plenty of peanuts or sunflower seeds in his pockets. It’s a running joke.

** Wu Xie’s uncle Sanxing had a companion and right hand man named Panzi who is mentioned a couple times. It gets confusing, just a heads up.

Wu Sanxing // Third Uncle

(Couldn’t find a GIF)

Wu Xie’s father is the first brother, Wu Sanxing is the third (the second is listed next). Wu Xie idolized his uncle Sanxing his entire life, but Wu Sanxing vanished after a tomb exploration, never to be seen or heard from again.

Wu Xie’s guiding mission is to find his uncle Sanxing at all costs- but to do that he must use his grandfather’s notebook to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and try to piece together a decades-old mystery.

Wu Erbai // Second Uncle

Wu Xie’s... second uncle, lmao!

With Wu Sanxing missing, Wu Erbai is the only family Wu Xie has around (in some “Lost Tomb” adaptations Wu Xie says his parents are dead, but in this one it is implied they are alive but estranged from Wu Xie). Wu Erbai is a bit of a mob boss, though he is kind to his family. He tends to finance Wu Xie’s explorations and takes a keen interest in his nephew’s safety and wellbeing.

A-Ning

(No GIF)

A-Ning was one of the first tomb robbers Wu Xie ever encountered on his travels. Over “The Lost Tomb” series, Wu Xie and A-Ning go from enemies to friends- and there are little hints that they may have been heading towards intimate relations.

In “Reunion”, A-Ning is revealed to have died on Wu Xie’s watch as they searched for a tomb (IDK if this is part of another of the Lost Tomb shows, I’m going back now to watch my way through the whole series). Her memory is very present in the story, so it was worth mentioning her.

Black Glasses // Hei Yanjing

(Not Giffed, but... you know... look for a dude all in black wearing sunglasses religiously)

One of the people Wu Erbai has on his payroll. Black Glasses is another semi-immortal. He is only a little bit younger than Xiao Ge, and very nearly his equal in terms of power.

Yanjing’s main abilities lie in his eyes though. Out in the world- day or night- he is blind without his simple black sunglasses. In a pitch-black tomb though, he can see perfectly due to his insanely good night vision.

Xiao Ge fights mainly with his sword, but Yanjing is more fond of modern weapons such as guns. He’ll use anything to his advantage- and he’s quite mouthy. I think he and Xiao Ge are... cousins? Or something?

=========

That’s pretty much it for “Reunion”. There are a few other characters who are returns from earlier seasons, but their purposes are pretty easy to guess and their roles minor enough that you’ll pick up on their characters pretty quickly. This includes Liu Sang- the one whose GIFsets I keep sharing :)

The show contains itself in its own story very well, so I think you’ll be able to make it through. But if you feel lost, all I watched before going into it was “The Lost Tomb” from 2015 (10 episodes), mainly to learn who the characters are. You can also look up the characters in the DMBJ Wiki (DMBJ = shorthand for the name of the novel).

#ask #mistakenforademigod

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tanoraqui · 5 years ago

Text

[Part 1] [Part 2]

[now all on AO3!]

As Nie Huaisang pulls his horse to a halt, as he clumsily dismounts and begs his san-ge to speak with him in private and they walk off to the side of the road together, Nie Huaisang’s eyes down and his fan covering most his face in embarrassment, he thinks very quickly, and decides faster. He’d promised himself he would do that, next time something like this happened

Here is some of what he thinks:

if the lifeblood of Qishan was power and the heart of Qinghe is strength, then the vital spark of Lanling is appearance. Nie Huaisang has always admired this, even yearned for it - imagine being born to a sect in which it was okay to just sit around and look pretty! Sure, they go a bit overboard with gilt, but who wouldn’t, if they had the money? QingheNie has a fortress in the mountains; LanlingJin has a golden tower overlooking one of the biggest ports in the empire, trade and art and culture all within reach

Conversely, they also thrive on secrets - the dark side of golden, glittering appearance. They’re not so different from QishanWen like that, because information is power. That’s why gossip is a thing

Nie Huaisang has no particular reason to distrust Jin Guangyao, personally. He’s always been very kind to Nie Huaisang, bringing him lovely new fans and paints and a beautiful finch one time. Da-ge doesn’t trust him, for reason of some things JGY did in the war, but da-ge has such high standards for conduct that it’s a miracle he trusts anyone after the Sunshot Campaign. (And it’d help if he told NHS anything about those alleged untrustworthy “things”...) Wen Qing doesn’t trust him, but in fairness, it was her side that he betrayed. That could sour anyone. Even putting aside the possibility that she’s deliberately sowing discord for some devilish Wen reason.

Admittedly, anything that Nie Huaisang says to him will almost certainly get back to Jin Guangshan, unless it’s of a truly personal nature - and perhaps even then. Secrets and gossip and power, after all, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that Jin Guangyao is desperate to please his father

even if the old bastard doesn’t deserve it an inch

So the question is, what is Nie Huaisang comfortable having known, and to whom? What does he want to appear as, to whom? And what is he willing to risk coming to light?

He thinks very fast, and soon as they’re well-out of earshot of his disciple-assistants and newly acquired Wen grandmother, he flings himself into Jin Guangyao’s arms, wailing.

(it’s a little difficult, because Jin Guangyao is one of the few men Nie Huaisang knows who’s shorter than he is.)

“San-ge, it’s not my fault! It’s all gone wrong! I just wanted to get out of saber practice, but then Wen Qing told da-ge something completely different, and then she made be get a baby, and - ”

The whole story comes out, in stops and starts mixed with helpless, hapless sobs. Nie Huaisang downplays Wen Qing’s successes with his brother, or at least mostly ignores them. He mentions A-Yuan’s nightmares only so far as they inconvenience himself, doesn’t comment on the Wens’ state of life at all, and generally exaggerates every terrible and bewildering situation he’s found himself in since he first happened to glance at Jiang Yanli at Phoenix Mountain

He figures Jin Guangyao probably sees through at least 20% of it, but that’s okay - that’s only deep enough to pierce the outer layer of overdramatics, which are mostly embellishments of the truth anyway, and maybe judge that Nie Huaisang has a soft heart for a cute kid

it’s a very cute kid, okay. NHS saw Nie Mingjue sneaking A-Yuan a piece of candy once. No one is safe

he doesn’t tell Jin Guangyao that

Nearly an hour later, Jin Guangyao peels Nie Huaisang gently off of his (now quite tear-damp) shoulder and smiles at him. It’s gentle, sympathetic, and the only thing it seems to be hiding is a laugh

Nie Huaisang is 99% sure of this assessment. Fortunately, he’s free to let his relief show, along with some healthy trepidation

“I won’t tell da-ge,” Jin Guangyao says, and there’s barely any humor to be seen dancing in his eyes. It’s really impressive, now that Nie Huaisang is learning what to look for.

“Really?” Nie Huaisang sniffles. “I just- He tries so hard, you know. I don’t want to disappoint him, not really.”

it really is all about using the truth. if it wasn’t so stressful, it’d be an incredible high

“Of course not.” Jin Guangyao squeezes him gently by the shoulders. “What is a san-ge for, if not to look out for his littlest brother?”

Nie Huaisang could definitely make a crack about his height smiles shakily and flings his arms around JGY’s shoulders again. “Oh, thank you! Thank you for your help!”

Jin Guangyao hugs him back gently and efficiently, then starts to tug him back to the waiting horses and by-now-dismounted companions. “Go on, get your A-Yuan’s granny back to Nie Sect and get yourself a good night’s sleep. I’ll make sure they’re both marked correctly as requisitioned for labor in Qinghe”

Nie Huaisang thanks him several more times, wiping away his tears like someone who just remembered that he’s not supposed to appear so weak in public. Jin Guangyao waves goodbye as he mounts his sword and flies away, and Nie Huaisang waves back, and then he and his assistants and his newly acquired A-Yuan’s Granny ride home

[they’re never going to be relevant again but I want you all to know that in my mind, these two dumb bastards are brothers with rhyming names, like, Xi Ping and Xi Ying or something. RIP Xi Ping and Xi Ying and their eardrums after NMJ reams them out for helping NHS do something stupid again]

And then...

they actually have peace for several months.

Oh, the cold war between Jing and Jiang - or more accurately, between Jin and Wei Wuxian - is still brewing like fine tea, and Nie Huaisang finds himself paying more attention than usual to the gossip about it, because Wens come up as often as not. They're the prime example of the destructive power of the Stygian Tiger Seal, after all. And NHS has four of them living in his house, now

the gossip spikes deliciously when Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan get engaged, though it somehow neither eases nor increases the tension in either side

{the timeline is rubbish anyway, so it’s whatever’s convenient for this fic, thank you very much}

Nie Sect’s physicians are too proud to let Wen Qing take over their infirmary wholesale, but they don’t hesitate to consult with her on pretty much everything. Wen Ning turns out to be pretty fun to play checkers with, whether he lets Nie Huaisang win or gets invested enough to actually put up a good fight. Despite Granny’s addition to the orphan-caring staff, A-Yuan still slips away most days and follows Nie Huaisang around like a particularly persistent curse-construct. On the plus side, he’s learning how to be patient enough that the bolder birds will sit on him as readily as on Nie Huaisang himself, and he painted an entirely acceptable butterfly the other day.

Oh, and the veins in Nie Mingjue’s neck are only visible when he shouts, now, and enough time has passed that he’s forgotten about Nie Huaisang’s earlier, rash promise to practice saber for an extra half hour each day. Or maybe he’s just resigned to the fact that such promises never last. This is truly the best timeline!

And then the worst happens, out of the blue yet in retrospect inevitable: Nie Mingjue has a severe qi deviation

He’s coming back from a meeting in Lanling, which wasn’t so much a discussion conference as Jin Guangshan calling a handful of sect leaders together to bitch about the Wei Wuxian and the Tiger Seal again. Wen Qing is in the infirmary, setting a young disciple’s broken leg. Nie Huaisang is in his bedroom, trying to write an ode to snowflakes that, read aloud, is a single tone off from a recitation of curse words for the entire poem. They both hear the shouting from the main courtyard

Wen Qing has a doctor’s reflexes; she leaves the leg to an assistant and arrives in the courtyard in time to watch Nie Mingjue collapse out of the air. The disciples who accompanied him to Lanling are there to catch him, ease him down gently, but Baxia clatters to the ground

Nie Huaisang sees it from his window. By the time he gets there, his brother is laid out flat and Wen Qing and the Chief Physician are snapping clipped phrases at each other as they assess his status, in the mode of emergency responders everywhere

the Chief Physician doesn’t like Wen Qing, doesn’t like Wens, but he can respect her medical talents. Both sentiments are mutual - Wen Qing has a much more comprehensive skillset, but if there’s anything Nie healers know, it’s how to handle qi deviation

qi deviations are difficult and dangerous to treat - the spiritual energy starts cascading through a cultivator’s body, untamed and harmful, and adding soothing energy may help but it may make it worse, or even cause the chaos to spread to the would-be healer

{I actually have no idea how any of this works, and will henceforth be making up my own worldbuilding}

Nie Mingjue’s eyes have rolled back in his head, bleeding, and he shakes like a leaf in the wind, incongruous to the warrior who led attacks on the Nightless City itself. Who held his brother like a guarding stone wall at their father’s funeral. Nie Huaisang cannot breathe

they get him stabilized enough to move up to the infirmary. Someone eases up their grip on Nie Huaisang’s body so he could follow (he won’t remember until later that he was being held back)

It takes four hours to stabilize him fully (unlucky). His golden core tries to collapse three times, his heart stops twice, and his fucking saber tries to attack them once, seemingly of its own initiative. Several other healers join in as needed, even Wen Ning - he’s always been good at getting seizing patients to still. Wen Qing rates it below the 39-hour golden core transfer with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, in terms of worst surgeries of her life, but above nearly everything else, including the emergency liver transfer where the girl turned out to have all her organs on the opposite side and a side order of demon-induced pneumonia

Nie Huaisang has been sitting in the corridor outside, on the floor. Someone's put a cloak on him. He looks up when they exit, forgetting how to breath again.

“He’s unconscious,” says the Chief Physician, who is probably some sort of distant uncle/cousin. “But he should wake. He will wake,” he corrects.

Wen Qing takes a deep breath. “We need to talk somewhere private.”

By the time Nie Huaisang has at least gotten to see his brother, get proof that he’s still breathing, the First Disciple has joined them as well (I mean, that position is sure as hell not held by NHS). Her name is Han Xiaoshi and she’s built in the same mold as the sect leader: tall, broad, wields her saber like a third hand. She leans against the closed door of the Chief Physician’s office while the Chief Physician - let’s say Nie Fengji - gives a slightly less brief explanation of the sect leader’s current state.

(it’s not good. he’s in a semi-medically induced coma. he is bleeding neither blood nor spiritual energy. he...should wake, in his own time, if they continue to carefully feed his healing energy)

(if he wakes within three days, he will be fine. for now)

Nie Huaisang’s blood pounds hot and panicked in his ears; an unthinking fan covers his face.

they all turn to Wen Qing, who wanted privacy.

Wen Qing soothes hands over her skirt, still blood-flecked, and lifts her chin calmly. Addresses the First Disciple more than anyone. “Before I begin, would you please put a guard each on my bedroom and the apothecary, and my brother’s room as well?”

“What? Why?” asks Nie Huaisang, bewildered. Han Xiaoshi echoes more sternly

She smiles thinly. “I’d rather not be accused of trying to assassinate Chifeng-zun.”

Nie Huaisang’s blood turns cold

“Keep talking,” says Han Xiaoshi

Here’s what Wen Qing explains: there’s an herb grown on the same volcanic slopes into which the Nightless City is set, a grass that absorbs so much yin energy from the volcano that it carries it over into anyone who consumes the stalks, offsetting the natural balance of their spiritual energy. A closely guarded inner clan secret. It can allow for rare, advanced cultivation techniques (including demonic ones)...or it can spark a fatal qi deviation the next time the user tries to do anything spiritually strenuous. Like flying from Carp Tower to the Unclean Realm

“It’s almost impossible to detect in the blood,” she finishes. “But I recognize the pattern of its effects.” Her hands are clasped loosely in front of her. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find some planted in a place that draws suspicion to A-Ning or myself.”

“Who else would know about it?” Nie Huaisang demands, trembling even as the ice is settles into his veins

“Someone who was close to Wen Ruohan,” she says calmly

they all know who she means

(oh, how she wants to tremble, too, too aware of every sword in the room that could be turned against her. Aware of A-Yuan and Granny and Wen Ning, her brother in the corridor just outside, and how it still hasn’t been a year since Wen blood ran in the flagstones of this castle. But Wen Qing has never been one to shake)

“There’s something else I should say,” she admits, to Nie Huaisang more than anyone. “I don’t actually know much about qi deviation - I’ve had a crash course, obviously, and I’m not a fool, but I’m mostly been treating it as a blood pressure problem - ”

“Obviously,” the Chief Physician scoffs

“ - but my Uncle Six is a true expert. Wen Zhichen - he was friends with your aunt, Huaisang-gongzi; your older sister, Fengji-shifu [the previous Chief Physician, killed in battle in the fifth month of the Sunshot Campaign]. If anyone can wake Nie-zongzhi, it’s him - ”

she could have said this earlier, could have said it weeks ago, or even from the start - but she had Wen Ning to think of before anyone else, and then A-Yuan who was too young to have accumulated crimes even as a Wen...

Wen Qing had once noted that the second son of Nie had likely never felt fear, true fear, in his life. That’s not true anymore. His brother is unconscious in the next room over and it’s not sure if he’ll ever wake. And it’s consequences catching up with him again, for real this time, this maybe-first time - was it the Wens, villainous duplicitous Wens that he brought into their home himself? Was it someone else, equally traitorous, suspicion roused to a killing intent by something Huaisang did himself?

People do a lot things when they’re feel fear deep down to their souls. They scrape and bow; they make bargains they shouldn’t, accept costs they can’t. They bend or they break

Nie Huaisang is a fop by preference, but it turns out that he breaks like a Nie

He shoves Wen Qing against the wall, hand on her throat. “Tell me this isn’t a trick. Tell me this isn’t some fucking ploy to get more Wen-dogs into my home, so you can finish killing my brother.” He shakes her, drops the fan to put his hand on the saber he's terrible with (it still hums eagerly for blood.) “Tell me.”

“I am,” she gasps

There is a tableau. Then Nie Huaisang drops her and strides for the door. “Shijie, put guards on her rooms, her brother’s, and Granny’s,” he snaps to Han Xiaoshi. “Don’t let anyone enter. Gather the Wens all in the third guest bedroom and keep them there - make sure A-Yuan has some paints to keep him quiet. And I’ll need your two fastest - no, those with the best strength and endurance in flight - ”

“Nephew - ” says the Chief Physician, and “Young Master,” says the First Disciple, a little impressed and a medium dubious

the closest Nie Huaisang has ever gotten to this commanding before was the early days of the Sunshot Campaign when there were no battle lines to hide behind yet, when he sometimes followed Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji as they tore across the country and directed the clean-up of their wake

“The best strength and endurance,” he repeats over them. The fan stays on the floor. “We’re flying to Qishan - we’ll be back with an extra expert for you in a couple days, Uncle. In the meantime, you can have Wen Qing if you need her, but otherwise they all stay in the third guest room.”

It takes a full day to fly to the Wen settlement in Qishan, at Nie Huaisang’s best pace. Starting already late in the afternoon, full of anger and terrified panic in equal measure, it’s beyond late by the time they near - and all but the anger has simmered away. Nie Huaisang lets them settle near the nearest halfway decent city instead, forces himself to lay on the ground and try to sleep, and sends one of his disciples out to buy the nicest fan they can find. He left so fast, he forgot to pick one up again

When they land in the filthy little town just after dawn, he stumbles off his sword more than lands (he is genuinely tired, at least) and runs to hammer on the door of the supervisory office, all terror and panic. “Jin-guniang! Jin-guniang! Help, help! It’s me, Nie Huaisang! I need - ”

“What?!” The captain yanks the door open (she sleeps above the office) and he very much does fall into her arms

“Ah, you have to help me!” He’s disheveled with flight and weepy with tears. “Wen Qing poisoned my brother and now he won’t wake up, so I have to find her sixth uncle - ”

“What - Nie Huaisang, what? Is she threatening - that Wen-bitch - ”

“No, no, we beat up her brother until she said - please! He’s the best at qi deviation, even Uncle Physician admitted it - ”

make sure to have Wen Ning beaten up just enough to look good, he notes in a small, back corner of his mind. in case there are spies in the castle. I’d have spies, if I could

“Okay, okay!” Jin Qixian ushers him into the office, half-holding him up. “Let me check the list of residences - sit down, Huaisang-gongxi, someone will brew tea...”

[five minutes later...]

“A different camp?” Nie Huaisang cries, fluttering his new fan in dismay

“They needed a healer...” Jin Qixian says apologetically. “But you just wait here, I’ll send someone - ”

“No, no,” Nie Huaisang gets to his feet, shaking his head. Happy to let the exhaustion of a 10-hour flight and 4 hours fitful sleep in the woods show, and the desperate helplessness that’s really not hard to fake. “I have to- Da-ge is counting on me - ”

He waves off all her attempted reassurances, bullheaded with anxiety, and accepts an officially sealed note of authority with babbling gratitude, and...

[about an hour and a half later...]

the other town the remnants of the Wen sect and soldiers have been relegated to is more of a city, really - cramped and filthy, where the other one was merely destitute and filthy. Families living all in one room or worse, and it’s okay because they’re only home to sleep; the fields are already filled with everyone old enough to work. They probably do need healers, because there’s not enough attention being paid to waste management. But -

“What do you mean, he’s gone?” Nie Huaisang demands more sharply than he’d intended

Focus, A-Sang. It’s Nie Mingjue’s voice in his head, always, as though this was just another hated saber practice

“I’m sorry, Young Master Nie,” says the disciple in charge of this place - Jin Guangchao, another stray cousin. does everyone in that family spread seed like a watering can? “There was an incident a few days ago - ”

“He’s dead?” Nie Huaisang wails, sinking to ground

“No!” Jin Guangchao looks a little disgusted at his helplessness, but bends down to pull him up anyway. “Jin Zixun came around on an inspection and that one you wanted, he was impudent. Jin Zixun ordered him sent to the work camp at Qiongqi Pass.”

mother of fucking fucker [meaning Jin Zixun; meaning the whole situation]. the man probably made eye contact and that overbearing asshole -

“That’s so far away!” Nie Huaisang whined, staying limp, crying into his fan

“Nie-shixiong, it is on the way - ” one of his disciples offers uncertainly (poor bastards - he’s really yanking them around. They’re not sure if they’re helping a con or offering real support)

“We’ll get him back to Chifeng-zun, and get Chifeng-zun back on his feet,” says the other, slipping her arm under his and pulling him to his own feet. “Come on, you’ll see”

(whether it’s for the con or not, Nie Huaisang appreciates it. They’ve never been this genuinely nice to him before)

there’s a conversation in the air halfway to Qiongqi Pass. It goes like this:

“Nie-shixiong, we have to rest. You have to rest.”

[gritted teeth] “I’m fine.”

“You’re going to fall off your sword.” (Liu Lifang, the older woman)

“Then you’ll carry me, won’t you? We’ll already have Wen Zhichen - we’ll double up.”

“Your, uh, dramatics - ” (Zhao Huandi, younger, male - there aren’t a lot of Nies, in Nie. There’s a lot of guest cultivators. There’s a lot of turnover.)

“Will be just as good, if not better, when I’m fainting from spiritual exhaustion.” [slightly bitter, mostly factual] “Don’t worry, I won’t deviate - I don’t use my saber enough for that.” [definitely exhausted] “We don’t stop.”

The work camp at Qiongqi Pass has all the bully-filled charm of Jin Qixian’s town and all the overworked labor je-ne-sais-quoi of the other one, and it’s started raining so there’s a really nice note of despair. If Nie Huaisang had any room left in his brain, he would mourn the beauty of the frescos being destroyed, grand and glorious works of art even if their glory was that of the Wens

he slides off Liu Lifang’s sword in the middle of the densest group of workers, cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Hey! Wen Qing’s Sixth Uncle, Wen Zhichen of DafanWen! Nie Sect requisitions you!”

the prisoner-workers all shrink away; an inspector hurries over. “Hey, who are you - ”

“You will respect Second Master Nie Huaisang,” snaps Zhao Huandi, hand on his saber while Nie Huaisang starts to cry on cue for the third time that day, and god, either they’re really getting it or he’s just blessed with a sect full of perfect straight men.

“Please,” Nie Huaisang begs, leaning on his disciple and waving the letter from Jin Qixian. “I need a healer - that healer, it’s my brother, he’s been poisoned - ”

they’re real tears of exhaustion. maybe he should have let them talk him into a rest

(Da-ge will be fine, he knows, he insists to himself and the world. He was stable 24 hours ago and Nie Huaisang left him with the most competent people he knows)

the inspector has no idea what to do with him and neither does the Chief Inspector, really, when he rides up. That’s perfect - it means their half-hearted objections are easy to push past

they’re still shit at actually helping, because they don’t know a single person in this goddamned work-prison, and all the Wens just shy away, or pick up a pickaxe and try to keep working if anyone comes too near. The inspectors seem to regard this as ideal

Nie Huaisang honestly doesn’t care right now, but he does notice

Finally Nie Huaisang has wailed loudly enough up and down the valley that one prisoner hesitantly steps forward and admits to being the Dafan Wens’ Sixth Uncle. He has Wen Ning’s ears and Granny’s eyes and the same needle callouses as Wen Qing, so Nie Huaisang calls it a day

except they still have to fly back to the Unclean Realm, a flight of six hours unburdened

Nie Huaisang’s groan is entirely genuine

Wen Qing has taken to pacing by the time the Chief Physician comes to fetch her, personally, from the third guest bedroom. Night has come and gone and come again; A-Yuan and Granny are both asleep in the bed and Wen Ning is lying beside them, though she can tell he’s only pretending to sleep to make her feel better. What a good boy.

Sixth Uncle is sitting by Nie Mingjue’s bed in the infirmary, eating soup. There’s a couple Nie disciples in the room as well, one sending a slight stream of energy into Nie Mingjue and one simply watching the Wen, a hand on his saber hilt

(no one’s told her if they’ve searched her or anyone else’s rooms, yet; if they found anything)

“Keep sitting and eating!” snaps Nie Fengji, the Chief Physician, before Sixth Uncle can leap up at the sight of Wen Qing. “I need you talking qi balance, not falling over again.” He mutters under his breath, “People can’t even work if you let them get so weak - can’t trust a Jin to do anything with care.”

She sinks to her knees to hug her uncle instead - and notices a cot that’s been brought in to sit beside Nie Mingjue’s, its occupant also as still and wan as the grave.

“Huaisang!” She springs to her feet. “He didn’t - ”

“Exhaustion. The boy overworked his golden core and passed out.” Nie Fengji pushes her back with a roll of his eyes. “Bullheaded as their father, the both of them.”

He rolls up his sleeves and nudges the attending physician out of the way, to take over easing calming energy into Nie Mingjue without a single quiver in the stream. “Now, you two prove to me why I should trust any sort of Wen.”

To be continued...but Part 4 really will be the last, so, that’s p good actually. By my standards of mis-estimation of how long a piece of writing will be. And it’ll definitely be a short one! Unlike this Part 3, which is...*checks* 4.5k WTF.

#mdzs #the untamed #nie huaisang #wen qing #jin guangyao #a bunch of OCs who i named by mashing together random syllables and i'm not checking if any of them are real names bc it's 3am #ALSO wildly made up as i went: how to address anyone with any sort of title #just went with my gut #so like...apologies if i wildly messed up

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starshinegoblin · 5 years ago

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The Lyrics Trapped in My Mind

Writer’s Note: This is my second attempt at writing MingXicheng and I wrote it for #XichenWeek2020, This is a soulmate au where if one gets a song stuck in their head it’s because their soulmate is singing it. ♥

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Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes as he set down his brush. The sound of his older brother’s loud annoying flirty voice coming through the closed door of his bedroom to his boyfriend over the phone made him cringe. There was no way he was going to be able to work and listen to that nonsense. He walked across the room to his desk grabbing his airpods connecting them to his cellphone.

As he walked back to his easel he went through his playlists wondering what he wanted to play. It didn’t take him along after he glanced at the painting to give him inspiration. He went to the one song that’d been stuck in his head since Wen Ning had sent him the link to Advance Bravely. The mind plaguing song was Everything Will Say GoodBye by Jason Zhang Jie. He tapped on it and put it on repeat before stuffing the phone in his back pocket. Jiang Cheng felt a renewed sense of inspiration as he started singing the lyrics while he continued to paint.

“Everything will say goodbye, sometimes calm like the water…” Jiang Cheng sang not caring about being heard, that is until he heard a sharp loud knock on his door. He took one of the pods out, “Yes?”

The door opened to reveal his brother. “So, Lan Zhan, A-Sang and I were wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner and some drinks?” Wei Wuxian asked, eyes fluttering in a plea for him to say yes . However, Jiang Cheng really wasn’t in the mood to deal with an intoxicated Wei Wuxian or Nie Huaisang (who’s a clinger and a crier at the drop of a hat) in public. Nope, Lan Wangji could deal with that gremlin on his own and though he felt awful for Mo Xuanyu, the man was dating the little beastie, Nie Huaisang.

“Nope.” Jiang Cheng reaffirmed.

“Please? It’s at House Koi. I know you like it there.”

“You’re allowed to go back? I vaguely remember that you got drunk and punched the owner. Who specifically told you that you weren’t welcome on the premises. And that was putting it lightly.”

“It was the one time and I stand by what I did.” Wei Wuxian replied, firmly. The memory of seeing Jin Guangshan leering at his little brother had made his skin crawl. He never told why he’d been banned but didn’t regret it. Jiang Cheng smiled hearing the protectiveness in Wei Wuxian’s tone. “Besides, it’s under the new management of the peacock and Yao-ge.”

“I still say no.” Jiang Cheng replied, turning back to paint. His mind trying to focus on the music still playing in his one ear.

“Oh come on, didi!” Wei Wuxian begged, leaning against the doorway of Jiang Cheng’s bedroom of their shared apartment. “It will be good for you!”

“What part of no are you not understanding?” Jiang Cheng sighed, serving his older brother a glare that was dull as a baby spoon. Despite his expression the both of them knew that he was right. Jiang Cheng needed to get out and see everyone. It’d been so long since they’d seen him. The whole breakup with Wen Zhuliu had gone to utter shit leaving Jiang Cheng in shambles. But that was nine months ago and while he was making great strides with painting again, going on his morning runs, and picking up Jin Ling from day care for their sister and the peacock, Jiang Cheng mostly stayed in their apartment.

Wei Wuxian wasn’t going to let him isolate himself anymore. If his little brother was going to be free of that loser then he needed to get out. He didn’t want to truly make him angry because it would ruin his, Lan Wangji’s, and Nie Huaisang’s plan. He schooled his face into his best pout and pleaded again leaning on something that only he knew as his brother.

“Besides I heard from A- Sang that Xichen-ge and Mingjue-ge will be there too. Xichen-ge got back last night from Tokyo.” Wei Wuxian stated, grinning from ear to ear when Jiang Cheng actually paused mid stroke the paint dripping a bit onto the canvas. Jiang Cheng’s normally pale neck tingeing red.

Jiang Cheng’s heart started to race at the mention of their names. He had the biggest crush on both of them since he was in high school and that spark of attraction to both of them never faded. Damn his brother for knowing his weak spot and using it was a weapon to manipulate him.

“Fine.” Jiang Cheng grumbled, even though he was actually starting to feel excited. His mind accepted the idea that it would be nice to get out with the added bonus of seeing Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen.

“YES!” Wei Wuxian yelped, suddenly across the room, wrapping him up in a tight hug, “You won’t regret it, didi! ”

“Hopefully.” Jiang Cheng sighed, as Wei Wuxian bounced towards the door probably to go call his boyfriend and brag about his victory. Jiang Cheng shook his head, putting his pod back in before trying to save his painting. He’d have just enough time to finish and get ready for dinner.

“I knew that we shouldn’t have watched that series.” Nie Mingjue complained as he stepped into the living room of his shared apartment with his boyfriend. The theme song of the show continued playing in his mind as he spoke. Lan Xichen chuckled from where he sat on the couch relaxing with a cup of fresh tea in his hands. His hair down and wearing his glasses for once. He looked warm and cozy in Nie Mingjue’s forest green henley over his t-shirt and jeans.

“I’m sorry, I can’t get it out of my head too. Can you imagine listening to Director Wu going on and on with that song on repeat.” Lan Xichen chuckled, as Nie Minjgue lifted his legs up by Lan Xichen’s calves so that he could sit down on the couch with him.

“It’s alright.” Nie Mingjue smiled warmly at his adorable boyfriend and soulmate as he put the man’s feet in his lap. His hands moved to gently massage his feet.

“Since we agreed to meet A-Sang and the other’s for dinner later. Perhaps it will finally go away.” Lan Xichen laughed, making Nie Mingjue laugh.

“Or at least distract us for a little bit.” Nie Minjgue replied hoping that it did work. The song was good but he needed a different song to think about when working on his logistics reports.

“A-Xian said that they would be here in a moment. They just pulled in.” Nie Huaisang informed them, looking up from his phone. A smile on his face as he looked at his older brother and Lan Xichen. Since finding out that Nie Minjgue was his soulmate in high school, Lan Xichen knows that something is up. That type of smile always meant that Nie Huaisang has a plan cooked up. Lan Xichen only hoped that it wasn’t tonight. Nie Mingjue was in a good mood.

“It’s alright, A-Yao, hasn’t come back yet.” Lan Xichen replied. Meng Yao had left the table to take care of something in the kitchen. That’d been about fifteen minutes ago.

“If he’s any longer Xichen-ge, I’ll go back and save him.” Mo Xuanyu stated as he took a sip of the sparkling pink chardonnay that Meng Yao had brought him. Nie Mingjue gave a nod. Meng Yao had been working tirelessly with his older brother to get the exclusive restaurant back to its former glory. Their careless father had left it bankrupt when he forcibly retired.

The restaurant is a two story tea house that had been remodeled after years of neglect. The first floor contained the bar, kitchen, restrooms, and a dance floor with a koi pond beneath it. Where they are on the second floor, is where the private booths and rooms are. Tonight they were occupying the second largest room, The Room of Fragrance. Meng Yao and Jin Zixuan had gone with the minimalist but elegant accents to decorate the room. Lan Xichen’s favorite thing about the room is the chandelier hanging above their low table. It’s design being branches from a plum blossom tree dangling down from the ceiling and the blooms giving light to the room.

“There they are.” Nie Huaisang said happily waving his hand at them like he’s not seen them in years, stirring Lan Xichen’s attention, as the shoji door slid open to reveal: Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, Meng Yao, and Jiang Cheng. He felt Nie Mingjue suddenly reach over resting his hand on his upper thigh, and he knew that he wasn’t the only who’s breath had gotten stuck in their throat. Jiang Cheng looked good no, damn good.

His black hair that’d been kept short during his previous relationship was now long enough that he was able to braid it off to one side showing off his stunning sapphire eyes and that long neck. As he took off his pea coat, it revealed he’d chosen a black turtleneck with some very well fitted jeans. He looked healthier than he’d been in the past few months that Lan Xichen had seen through Wei Wuxian’s social media accounts and occasionally Wangji’s instagram when Jiang Cheng was with them.

“We are sooo glad you decided to join us tonight, A-Cheng!” Nie Huaisang declared way too cheerfully, making Jiang Cheng flush as he turned around. Which of course made Lan Xichen’s heart skip a beat and by the squeezing of Nie Mingjue’s hand he knows the other is feeling the same as him.

“I just bet you are.” Jiang Cheng bites out teasingly as he rounds the table to sit in between Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian.

“Oh we are.” Nie Huaisang teases, bumping Jiang Cheng’s shoulder as the latter sits down directly across from Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue. Which of course makes it click in his mind why Nie Huaisang had been insistent that they sit where they are now earlier when they first arrived. His gaze flickering from Jiang Cheng to see the wide cheshire grin spreading across his boyfriend’s little brother’s face.

“That little…” Lan Xichen hears Nie Mingjue grumble but fade out as Jiang Cheng gives them both a soft smile making Lan Xichen’s brain check out for a few seconds till Wei Wuxian loudly exclaims that he is starving. Then they are all passing around the tablet to order their food.

They are halfway into their dinner when Nie Huaisang says, “You know what I heard today from one of my patients? I heard that when a song gets stuck in your head. That it is because you can hear your soulmate singing it.”

“Then didi's soulmate has blessed with him non stop singing Everyday Will Say Goodbye, because he’s been singing it for two weeks now.” Wei Wuxian teased Jiang Cheng, making the latter flush and nudge him sharply with his elbow, not seeing how both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue had stilled across from him.

“Then Lan Wangji has been blessed with your horrible belting of No Feelings.” Jiang Cheng teased back.

“Hey, Lan Zhan loves my singing.” Wei Wuxian sticks out his lower lip in a pout, dramatically turning to look at his boyfriend and soulmate with puppy eyes. Lan Wangji’s small smile and soft nod only makes Wei Wuxian preen turning back around with a smirk and sticking his tongue childishly out at his brother.

“Spoiled.” Jiang Cheng says rolling his eyes despite the smile on his own face. He reaches out for his glass when he notices that Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen are staring at him with a look that makes him still, hand hovering in the air. He blinks looking down at his glass. His cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red that had nothing to do with the wine he was drinking.

“You’ve been singing Everyday Will Say Goodbye?” Lan Xichen asked, a smile spreading across his face as Jiang Cheng nodded.

“It’s this opening song to a show that A-Ning sent me.” Jiang Cheng explained.

“Good song.” Nie Mingjue replied, sharing a knowing look with Lan Xichen. It made more sense now. While the two of them love each other deeply. It had always felt like there was a missing piece. Their other half hadn’t been with them but now he’d been found.

“Yes it is.” Lan Xichen agreed, gaze shifting back to Jiang Cheng.

----

Refs:

Idea for prompt from this post by 3rdgymbros

No Feelings by Wang Yibo - https://youtu.be/7dG4yShmxIM

Everyday Will Say Goodbye by Jason Zhang Jie - https://youtu.be/QI6WHyiFLdc

House Koi is based loosely off the japanese restaurant Gonpachi that was used in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

#mingxicheng #lan xichen #nie mingjue #jiang cheng #modern ot3 au #past relationship #pre-relationship #ot3 soulmate au #soulmate au #xichenweek2020 #not beta read #all errors are mine

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merinnan · 5 years ago

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DMBJ Ep 3

We left off with the Xiao Ge Rescue Count at 5, and with bb!Wu Xie staring at a sleeping Xiao Ge. And, like, same, Wu Xie. Same. Also, thank you, Yang Yang, for being 28 so I don't feel like a creep when I go all hearteyes when you're onscreen.

- gdi Wu Xie, no touching people's things without permission

- that is a good unimpressed face, Xiao Ge. I approve.

- and yes. I, too, glare at the sun like that upon waking up

- taking a pre-mission photo never bodes well. It usually means someone in the photo is gonna die before the end of the show. Since I know the other 3 are in other DMBJ dramas & idk if Wu Xie's friend is, my money's on the friend

- Wu Xie thinks she's familiar? Is that A-Ning?

- Oh, it's Chengcheng

- It's not at aaaalll suspicious that you're here, Chengcheng

- You just ran across the bad guys and followed them all the way here. Without them noticing you. Uh-huh

- Please tell me someone else is suspicious of her

- Awww, Wu Xie brought him food

- Oh, there are two beds after all

- Hahahah, I love how the little kid is all, bitch, pay me

- "see? fuck thanks, gimme money"

- Grandpa Li?

- "You're all so awesome! Please don't kill me for trying to kill and rob you!"

- Third Uncle asking the pointed questions

- Oh, first you say it's because you needed money for meds, and now you're saying it was because the other guy said he'd kill you. Changing stories isn't suss at all, oh no

- lol, coercing him into guiding them again

- hmmm, sounds like he took the bad guys there

- sounds more like they did a runner on you b/c they didn't trust you. And, like, same

- I love how unimpressed they all are with him

- dude, watch where you're going!

- wow, I just realised how lightly Xiao Ge travels

- hahahah, he literally fell into a plot hole

- you are literally the leader of this expedition, why are you asking your kid nephew what to do?

- cue dramatic hammering montage

- is that blood? that looks like blood

- yep, it's blood

- tent? that's a marquee, not a tent

- don't tell me you're going to try camping in a marquee

- welp, here's some bad guys spying on them

- oooh, don't like how they seemed to be focusing on Xiao Ge

- WOW, Third Uncle and Pan Zi dig fast!

- I am totally here for these gratuitous close ups of Xiao Ge

- is that...a fireplace?

- oh, no, it looks like the ancestral hall entrance at Yang's place in Chongqi, so I guess it's a tomb entrance?

- look, that's totally fair, dude. You didn't sign up for zombies.

- I'd say you can watch Chengcheng, but you're all kinda dumb about her

- are those qilin statues?

- I suspect those words are gonna come back to bite you, Pan Zi

- don't panic, Wu Xie, didn't they just say it could be opened from both sides?

- oooor you could find the air vent. Sure

- hahah, that 'kids, amirite?' look between Third Uncle and Pan Zi

- Yang Yang does intense & broody well, but as I said earlier, I really miss Huang Junjie's microexpressions

- you are surprisingly prepared for disarming this very specific trap, Xiao Ge

- I am slightly weirded out by him just making those weird noises at that coffin

- wait what?

- oh, that's not good

- yes, bow to the angry coffin

- is...is Xiao Ge growling at it now?

- this is a surprisingly hot look, tho.

- what is he SAYING to it?

- well, whatever he said, it seems to have worked for now

- that coffin's gonna be trouble later, isn't it?

- given how badly Wu Xie was bleeding in the cave, and how much he's been moving around less than a day later, I'm impressed that there's not even a spot of blood seeping through his current bandage

- lots of snakes on that wall carving. Wonder if it has anything to do with that snake demon story that Grandpa Li mentioned last ep?

- that's a long tunnel for something that couldn't have been started more than a few days ago

- was that just a polite way of saying they should have set off the traps already? XD

- I appreciate how Xiao Ge is always bringing up the rear, watching their backs. And Pan Zi or Third Uncle always in the lead. They've got a good dungeon crawl marching order going

- "there's probably still members of a dangerous tomb robber gang inside, so let's just charge in without any obvious caution"

- Wait, why can't you read that, Third Uncle? You obvs can read ancient scripts as well, since you could read the silk map

Oh, and it's the end of the ep already. Sadly no additions to the Xiao Ge Rescue Count. He did stop them triggering a trap, and there was that coffin-whispering to settle the coffin down, but no actual dramatic rescues for the Rescue Count.

So, Xiao Ge Rescue Count: 5

#alicia watches dmbj #daomubiji #dmbj #xiao ge rescue count

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boat-full-of-lotus-pods · 6 years ago

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MDZS Chapter 107. “Concealment” Part 1

Let’s all fight Big Bro Nie together

With clenched teeth, Jin GuangYao hit a few acupuncture points above his severed arm. All the blood loss was making his head dizzy and his vision swim. When he suddenly saw Nie MingJue taking a step towards him, eyes hard and blank, Jin GuangYao’s soul nearly left his body. Off to the side, Su She coughed out another mouthful of blood and yelled in a hoarse voice with all his might, “Fools! What are you all waiting for?! Stop him! Stop that thing by the door!”

Those cultivators from the Lanling Jin Sect who had been standing distracted all this time finally raised their swords and went forward. The two cultivators at the frontmost were immediately flung into the air by Nie MingJue with a single blow.

Jin GuangYao sprinkled medicine powder over the severed end of his arm, but the powders were flushed away immediately by the blood flow. His eyes were practically brimming with tears as his tried to tear off a strip of his own robes, attempting to tie his wound in order to stop the bleeding. However, his left arm had already sustained injuries from the white smog of coffin and the black box earlier and was barely of use to him. With a trembling hand, he kept struggling to tear his robe with no success, worsening his pain. Su She practically crawled over to his aide, tearing off a strip of his own white robes and tied it over Jin GuangYao’s arm. Frantically, Su She looked for spare medicine gels and powders on his own person. When he couldn’t find any, he turned towards Lan XiChen, who had stepped towards a safer area of the room while shielding Nie HuaiSang, and said, “Sect Leader Lan! Sect Leader Lan, do you have medicine? Please help him! The Sect Leader has always been kind and courteous to you; please just help him out!”

Seeing that Jin GuangYao was on the verge of fainting in his miserable state, pity rose in Lan XiChen’s eyes. Just then, shrieks came from the other side of the temple. Nie MingJue had just reduced three cultivators into bloody pulps with a single blow!

Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi put themselves in front of Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling. Wei WuXian asked, “Wen Ning! How did you bump into him?!”

Finished reattaching his hand, Wen Ning went on to reattach his broken leg and replied, “Young Master…… Apologies…… You told me to go find Young Master Lan. I went back to the inn but didn’t find him there, so I could only go search on the streets. Before I could find Young Master Lan, I saw ChiFeng-Zun walking about on the streets. He looked as if he was trying to find something, and a group of homeless beggars went up to bother him without knowing how dangerous he was. ChiFeng-Zun is completely senseless. Those beggars, they almost…… I had no choice but to fight him all the way here……”

Wei WuXian didn’t need to ask why he didn’t find Lan WangJi at the inn. If he couldn’t find sleep next door to Lan WangJi, then could Lan WangJi really find sleep next door to him? No doubt Lan WangJi had also gone out to roam around or run about, right up until he met Fairy, who had gone off to find backup with her tail between her legs. The thunderstorm that had arrived without warning no doubt also started right around when Wen Ning and Nie MingJue had started fighting.

“Corpses” already attracted dark energies and resentment on their own, not to mention that, in this case, two exceptionally fierce corpses were involved at the same time.

Despite not standing a chance against Nie MingJue, the Lanling Jin cultivators continued to rush forward. But their swords only clashed against Nie MingJue’s body as if clashing against metal, unable to make even a light gash. Nie HuaiSang poked out half of his body from behind Lan XiChen and said in a mixture of fear and anticipation, “Da-da-da-da-ge, I-I am……”

Nie MingJue’s pupil-less, fuming eyes glared round and wide. Abruptly, his hand lunged at Nie HuaiSang. With a slight tilt of his head, Lan XiChen made a weeping note out of Liebing, and Nie MingJue’s body froze.

Lan XiChen said, “Da-ge, this is HuaiSang!”

Nie HuaiSang said, “Da-ge doesn’t even recognize me anymore……”

Wei WuXian replied, “Not just you, right now he doesn’t even recognize himself!” Nie MingJue’s corpse was already propelled by an overwhelming amount of resentment. Fiercely aggressive, he attacked anyone and anything in his way. After taking a few moments to fix himself, Wen Ning rejoined the fight. However, the air of resentment around Wen Ning was not as strong as Nie MingJue’s, and neither was his build as massive. Furthermore, Wei WuXian’s flute was already broken and, without his aid, Wen Ning was no match for Nie MingJue—and it showed. Meanwhile, lying on the ground, Jin GuangYao finally stopped the bleeding of his severed arm after much effort. Su She crawled up and immediately tried to haul Jin GuangYao onto his back and make a run for it amidst the chaos. The motion drew Nie MingJue’s attention over to them. Tossing Wen Ning away from him, Nie MingJue headed towards Jin GuangYao with big steps. Jin Ling involuntarily cried, “Youngest Uncle! Run!”

Seeing that he was actually warning the enemy, Jiang Cheng slapped him over the back of his head and said, fuming, “Shut up!”

The slap woke Jin Ling up. But no matter what, Jin GuangYao was still the youngest uncle who had watched Jin Ling grow up, and in these past ten years, Jin GuangYao had never treated him poorly. Thus, fearing that Jin GuangYao would meet his tragic demise at the hands of a fierce corpse, Jin Ling had cried out without thinking. As the words reached Nie MingJue, he turned around, seemingly puzzled. Wei WuXian’s heart leaped to his throat as he cursed under his breath, “Shit!”

Nie MingJue had become a fierce corpse. Naturally, his resentment was strongest towards Jin GuangYao, the source of his resentment. However, fierce corpses did not identify people by sight!

Jin GuangYao and Jin Ling were close blood-relatives. To the dead, the scent of their breath and their blood was similar. To the disturbed dead, it would be even harder to tell the two apart. And right now, Jin GuangYao’s spirit was weak and half-dead from the blood loss of his severed arm while Jin Ling was at his full health, lively and filled with vigor. With a dead, unthinking mind, naturally Nie MingJue would be more interested in the latter.

Lan WangJi directed Bichen to aim right for Nie MingJue’s heart. As expected, the blade couldn’t advance even an inch into his chest. Lowering his head, Nie MingJue saw the shiny sword and howled as he reached to grab it. Immediately, Lan WangJi summoned Bichen back into its sheath with a ‘zing’, avoiding Nie MingJue’s clutches. With his left hand, Lan WangJi pulled out his guqin and started strumming without a moment’s hesitation. Lan XiChen had also brought Liebing back to his lips. Wei WuXian threw out fifty or so talismans all at once, all aiming at Nie MingJue’s body. Before the talismans even reached him, however, they were all ignited by the strong force of his resentment and incinerated into dust without a trace!

Nie MingJue reached for Jin Ling, roaring. Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling had already retreated into a corner with no room left to escape. Jiang Cheng could only shove Jin Ling behind himself, pull out the temporarily not-spiritually-charged Sandu and put up his best defense. Although both the qin and the xiao had started playing, they were already too late!

Nie MingJue’s heavy fist struck right through a body.

But the body was neither Jiang Cheng’s nor Jin Ling’s.

Standing at the corner, in front of both of them, Wen Ning clutched Nie MingJue’s iron-strong arm and slowly pulled it out of his own chest. A large, empty hole was left in its wake, high on his chest. There was no blood. Only a few chunks of blackened pieces of organs fell out.

Wei WuXian screamed, “Wen Ning!!!”

Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, looked about ready to lose his mind on the spot.

He said, “You? You?!”

The force of the punch had been too powerful. Not only did it go right through Wen Ning’s chest, the shock of it also shattered part of his vocal chords. Unable to form a single word, he fell towards the ground.

Due to his position, he crashed right into Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling. Though he couldn’t move a muscle at the moment, his eyes remained open, and stared straight at the two with an unmoving gaze.

Originally, Jin Ling had harbored unparalleled hatred towards the murderer and the weapon who had struck a hole through his father’s heart many years ago. Since a young age, he’d sworn countless times that, if the opportunity ever arise, he’d make sure to cut Wei WuXian and Wen Ning into thousands of pieces[1], inch by inch. Later, when he no longer wanted to hate Wei WuXian, his hatred for Wen Ning grew tenfold. Yet, right now, this murderer—this weapon—was suffering the same fate as his father right in front of them. And Jin Ling couldn’t even bring himself to shove him away.

He knew very well that Wen Ning was already a corpse, and so he should have no problem sustaining a hole in his chest. He’d probably still be fine even if he were to be cut into half. However, for some reason, Jin Ling couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

After delivering the blow, Nie MingJue’s movements also seemed to hesitate.

As Lan WangJi and Lan XiChen performed in unison, like flowing cold springs and fierce, high wind, the qin and the xiao made sounds that Nie MingJue absolutely despised. With the piercing notes magnified by the duet, his body slowed as if someone had bound him with an string. As the string pulled tighter and tighter, his anger grew more and more, until finally, Nie MingJue suddenly lashed out in an explosive attempt to free himself of the Sound of Vanquish’s bounds, and struck towards the man holding the qin. Lan WangJi calmly turned aside to dodge the attack, the music from his qin not breaking for even a moment. Nie MingJue’s fists ended up striking through the wall. Just as he was about to turn around, two sharp whistles caught his attention.

Pulling his fist out of the wall, he turned towards the source of the noise.

Wei WuXian whistled two more times before greeting him with a smile, “Hi there, ChiFeng-Zun. Recognize me?”

Nie MingJue glared at him with terrifyingly eyes of pure white. Wei WuXian continued, “It’s fine if you don’t. So long as you recognize this whistle.”

Lan XiChen inched his lips away from Liebing and warned, “Young Master Wei!”

He wanted to warn Wei WuXian that his current body belonged to Mo XuanYu. Not only was Mo XuanYu also related to Jin GuangYao, their blood-relation was even closer than Jin Ling and Jin GuangYao’s. Were Nie MingJue to redirect his resentment towards him, it would be very difficult for him to deal with it. Before Lan XiChen continued his next sentence, however, Lan WangJi looked his way and calmly, resolutely shook his head.

Lan XiChen understood his message at once: There’s no need to worry.

Lan WangJi believed that Wei WuXian would be fine.

As Wei WuXian whistled a tune, his gait also gained an easy rhythm. The tune was relaxing and light. However, in contrast to the thundering storm and the howling wind, amidst the countless corpses lying about inside the temple, the breezy tune painted an indescribably eerie mood. Off in the corner, lying against Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling, Wen Ning felt a strange, tremendous surge of power propelling him to stand up. Ultimately, whether it was because he restrained himself or because he had still not recovered the ability to move, Wen Ning only struggled a few times and staggered. Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling caught him instinctively, and a complicated expression rose on both their faces, as if they also wanted to drop him.

Smiling, Wei WuXian whistled his cheerfully out-of-place tune, folded his hands behind himself, and started walking backwards at a steady pace. Nie MingJue stood his ground. When Wei WuXian took the first step, Nie MingJue did not react at all. By the third step, he still didn’t budge from his spot. By the seventh step, however, he finally seemed no longer able to resist the pull of the tune, and took a step towards Wei WuXian’s direction.

Wei WuXian was leading him towards none other than the refined, empty coffin by the back of the Guanyin temple.

If he could make Nie MingJue go inside, then he would find a way to seal him.

Those white poisonous fumes had long since dispersed, no longer a threat. With a dead, livid expression, Nie MingJue instinctively resisted the coffin even as he was lured towards it. Wei WuXian circled around the coffin once. Everyone held their breaths as they watched what was happening, especially Lan WangJi. As Wei WuXian continued to whistle without pause, he slowly threw his gaze over. When he met Lan WangJi eyes, he gave a light, playful wink with his left eye.

As if he’d been pricked by a thin needle, the music underneath Lan WangJi’s fingertips took on an almost unnoticeable ripple of emotions before it stopped altogether. Wei WuXian turned back to what he was doing with an almost satisfied grin and slapped the coffin in front of Nie MingJue.

At last, Nie MingJue slowly began to lower himself into the coffin.

Yet, just as he was about to settle his upper body into the coffin, suddenly a shrill scream came from behind Lan XiChen.

Nie MingJue’s body immediately froze. Like everyone else, he whipped his head towards the direction of the scream. What greeted them was the sight of Su She carrying a half-conscious Jin GuangYao on his back, with one hand holding his legs and the other holding a sword. The blade was bloody. Beside them, Nie HuaiSang was on the ground, holding his leg and rolling in pain.

At the sight, a powerful aura from Shuoyue struck against Su She’s weapon hand. Startled, Su She dropped his sword, but he had already injured Nie HuaiSang, and the scent of blood drifted in the air. Wei WuXian silently cursed, ‘What the hell, ruining my hard work at such a crucial moment!’

Nie HuaiSang and Nie MingJue were half-brothers, sharing a father. The scent of Nie HuaiSang’s blood wouldn’t fuel Nie MingJue’s bloodlust but it would make him very curious. As his curiosity dragged his attention over, no doubt he’d notice Jin GuangYao again. And if he were to kill Jin GuangYao, his aggression would no doubt magnify, and become even harder to deal with!

Just as expected, growls came from Nie MingJue’s throat as he turned away from the empty coffin. He instantly identified the person on Su She’s back. Not even Wei WuXian’s whistles could stop him now. Nie MingJue rushed over like a torrent of dark wind, palm aiming straight for Jin GuangYao’s head!

Su She dashed to the side abruptly. Kicking up his fallen sword with the tip of his foot, he channeled all his spiritual energy into it and thrusted it against Nie MingJue’s heart. Perhaps because it was a matter of life and death, the thrust was stunningly quick and fierce. The blade shone dazzling bright with an overflow of spiritual energy. The move was more brilliant and more breathtaking than the countless other more elegant ones that he had practiced in the past. Wei WuXian almost couldn’t stop himself from praising him out loud. Even Nie MingJue was forced to take a huge step back by the explosive force of the blinding sword. But the moment the sword’s energy resided a little, Nie MingJue went forward again and reached for Jin GuangYao with an unforgiving relentlessness. With his left hand, Su She tossed Jin GuangYao towards Lan XiChen. With his right hand, he slashed towards Nie MingJue’s throat.

Even if Nie MingJue’s whole body was iron-hard and immune to swords and blades, the same might not be said of the string stitched across his neck!

Footnote:

[1]: Thousand pieces: 凌迟 ‘Ling Chi’ is actually an extremely slow and gruesome torture/execution process, also known as “death by a thousand cuts” where small pieces of a person’s body is removed over an extended period of time until they die.

#魔道祖师 #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #novel translation #my translation

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

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Fire and Light (ao3) - on tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

- Chapter 6 -

For his trip to the Cloud Recesses, Wen Chao was assigned a bodyguard of his own, a man introduced to them as Wen Zhuliu – not his actual name, of course. Wen Ruohan handed out his surname like a gift, spreading his poison to as many people as possible, and this Wen Zhuliu was apparently one of his most highly prized finds.

“They call him the Core-Melting Hand,” Wen Xu told the children. “And it’s not an exaggeration – he has a technique that can actually melt a person’s golden core.”

Personally, Nie Mingjue thought that techniques like that, however frightening, were all a bunch of trash in the end – a technique of that sort was flashy, impressive, but it had only two uses: to scare people or to turn the tide of a single battle against fellow cultivators, and for the run-of-the-mill work of night-hunts was totally pointless. It required such immense focus and dedication to puzzle out that it left no room for anything else, meaning this Wen Zhuliu probably didn’t know how to do anything practical, even as he thought himself better than others.

The man looked it, too. His face seemed older than he probably actually was in years, with an expression of detachment and ennui that made him come off as arrogant, or at minimum as snobbish, despite being nothing more than a tool for Wen Ruohan to use up and cast aside.

He’d probably be a bad influence on Wen Chao, Nie Mingjue thought, frowning to himself. He would need to have a word with Wen Chao before he left – tell him to trust his own instincts, to avoid things that made him uncomfortable, to reach out to trustworthy adults in the Lan sect if he thought he needed help. Even if this Wen Zhuliu wanted to make trouble on Wen Ruohan’s behalf, it would be difficult for him to act if Wen Chao used his youth and desire to please his father as an excuse to obey the rules…

A hand touched his shoulder and Nie Mingjue flinched, his hand flying to Baxia’s hilt – he was never without her comforting weight anymore – but it was only Wen Xu, looking as anxious as ever.

“It’s lunch,” he said, and Nie Mingjue blinked, noticing that they were now alone in the hall. He must have lost time again, sinking into his thoughts without tracking the world outside. A dangerous habit anywhere, even more so in Qishan, but on the other hand it wasn’t like he was being allowed out for night-hunts right now – the danger here was only internal, and Wen Ruohan found his suffering funny. “I asked them to make lamb skewers with cumin.”

A Qinghe specialty. Nie Mingjue appreciated the gesture.

“Wen Zhuliu,” he croaked, his voice rasping as if he had just been screaming. Maybe he had been. It hadn’t been that long since the last ‘walk’ through the Fire Palace that Wen Ruohan had invited him on – they were a regular part of the routine, now. Wen Ruohan’s own personal indoctrination since the usual sorts of things didn’t seem to be working well enough on Nie Mingjue.

Maybe if he could keep thinking of it that way, as some twisted form of education, then perhaps the horror of the things he saw and, worse, was made to do – the choices he was forced to make, the things he had to do to innocent people with his own hands, the things that were sometimes done to him as an example, the screams, whether his own or others, that incessantly rang in his ears, the feeling afterwards that he would never be clean again – perhaps it would eventually become merely mundane. Maybe. Probably not.

It might be worse if it did, actually.

“What about Wen Zhuliu?” Wen Xu asked, interrupting Nie Mingjue’s increasingly dark thoughts, and Nie Mingjue shook his head to clear it.

“He’ll be trouble,” he said.

Wen Xu frowned. “You think so? He’s just a bodyguard.”

Nie Mingjue shook his head a second time. It was evident to him that Wen Zhuliu was being sent to ensure that the Lan sect taught Wen Chao only as much – or as little – as Wen Ruohan preferred; otherwise, there was no need for such a powerful servant, with a frightening aura and an older man’s authority, to chaperone Wen Chao. Especially not to such a peaceful place, backed by the Lan sect’s guarantee of safety.

Wen Chao had only so very recently started acting like a person, thinking of others and considering questions of right and wrong beyond his own selfish desires – leaving him alone with Wen Zhuliu threatened that.

Nie Mingjue was sure of it.

“I’ll talk to A-Chao about it, then, warn him of the sorts of tricks he might play,” Wen Xu said. He would know them best, of course. “And I’ll make room for you to talk to him as well, if you feel able. Maybe I can get us permission to escort them some part of their journey, you and I…it’d be good for you to stretch your legs a little.”

Get you out of here for a while, he meant, and Nie Mingjue shrugged. Even if Wen Xu won permission for him to leave, which he doubted he’d be able to, in the end Nie Mingjue would have to come back, back to Wen Ruohan and his Fire Palace, back to all the people who depended on him.

Nie Huaisang, Wen Chao, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, even Wen Xu…

He was their big brother. He had a responsibility to them, just the same as he’d had ever since his father put Nie Huaisang into his arms for the first time, love chaining him more effectively than any iron.

He had to come back.

After all, if he didn’t go walking with Wen Ruohan, someone else might have to, and that was just – intolerable.

“I need help planning a murder,” Wen Xu announced as he swept in through the door in a swirl of intricately designed red robes, and Nie Mingjue wondered grumpily what type of dramatic actor he had been in a past or future life that made him quite so inclined to extravagant gestures. “Well, don’t all of you jump up and volunteer to help at once!”

Everyone reluctantly turned to look at him. Wen Ning was playing weiqi with Nie Mingjue while Nie Huaisang pretended to meditate as Wen Qing examined his meridians for any courses of treatment that might make cultivating easier on him; no one was especially moved by Wen Xu’s grandiose proclamation.

Maybe if he didn’t say something similar just about every other week…

“Who are we murdering today, Wen-ge?” Nie Huaisang asked, cracking an eye open and very obviously asking more to have a reason to stop even the pretense of meditation rather than any actual interest in the answer. “One of the teachers, or the soldiers, or a guard, or someone that stepped on your foot in the marketplace –”

“Wen Zhuliu,” Wen Xu said, and Nie Mingjue put down the weiqi piece he’d been toying with abruptly, with a smack that shook the table.

“What did he do?” he asked, concerned. “Is A-Chao all right?”

“He’s fine, if a bit shaken,” Wen Xu said. “Wen Zhuliu took him to a brothel.”

“He did what,” Nie Mingjue said.

“Unfair,” Nie Huaisang said. “I want to visit a brothel.”

“I’m fairly sure he wasn’t there on an educational visit, Huaisang-xiong,” Wen Qing said. “Or, at least, not in terms of a literary education.”

“Oh. Ick. No thanks, then.”

Wen Xu was gnashing his teeth together. “He wants to make a waste out of him. Fancy restaurants, a gambling house – I insisted we leave as soon as I realized – and now a brothel…if I hadn’t put a stop to it, A-Chao would be addicted to every vice available by the time he got to the Lan sect. They’d kick him out within a week!”

“He wouldn’t be able to challenge your position if he were a waste,” Wen Ning observed quietly. “If you were more like your father, you might even thank him for getting rid of a rival.”

“But why now?” Nie Mingjue asked, shaking his head. “A-Chao’s still so young. Playing around at that age can injure the body.”

It probably fucked up your head, too. Wen Ruohan’s specialty.

“If A-Ning is right about the motive, that’s the sort of injury one might want to inflict,” Wen Qing said. “Boys that young can’t get women pregnant, and overdoing it too young can damage them, keep them from having children in the future. Not to mention the impact on their adult personalities; it might turn him into a lascivious beast, unable to take no for an answer, or else retard him in childhood, injure him with trauma – or all of the above. Or none, of course, some people are fine, but it’s not something you want to take a chance on.”

“You put a stop to it, right?” Nie Mingjue asked Wen Xu, who nodded.

“I explained at some length to A-Chao how exactly one gets infected with lin bing,” he said. “Bleeding sores on your prick and all…in fact, I may have overdone it a bit. I’m not sure he’s even willing to look at a woman right now.”

“Good thing he’s off to the Cloud Recesses, then,” Nie Huaisang said, pitiless in the ways of the young. At least, Nie Mingjue hoped that was the reason, and not Qishan Wen cruelty seeping into his bones. “Don’t they split up men and women?”

“I knew Wen Zhuliu was trouble,” Nie Mingjue said, deciding to sidestep the current conversational subject. “We should write to the Lan sect – Xichen will be able to recruit his uncle to help stop anything like that going forward. Though I still want to know why Sect Leader Wen would do such a thing to A-Chao now. Haven’t I reduced my level of influence on you enough?”

He got a whole array of pitying looks that suggested his supposed ‘influence’ on them – mentioned several times by Wen Ruohan, and just as inexplicable to Nie Mingjue as it had been the first time it had come up, even though everyone else seemed to automatically know what was meant by it – was not only still existent but running stronger than ever.

“Well, fine,” he said, scowling at the traitors who refused, to a man (and woman), to explain anything. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t understand what they were always not-saying to each other about it. “But the point still stands. Why now? Why this way?”

“It’s his first time leaving the Nightless City without the usual retinue,” Wen Qing said. “And he’ll be staying at the Cloud Recesses for a few months. If he gets used to the outside world without going off-course, it may be harder to lure him into vice later. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence?”

“Perhaps,” Nie Mingjue said.

“If we’re very lucky, it’s not a coincidence, but has nothing to do with us at all,” Nie Huaisang put in. “There may be more that we don’t yet know.”

The ‘more’ turned out to be a very well-off young lady, closely connected to several of the cultivation families in Henan – in the area right between Qishan Wen, the remnants of Qinghe Nie, and Lanling Jin – moving into the Nightless City as Wen Chao’s future bride.

Nominally, anyway.

In reality, her ‘bridal’ suite became a regular stop on Wen Ruohan’s daily schedule, and the extremely audible sounds of their romping had everyone chewing ginger in an attempt to avoid vomiting.

“There goes any hope of another girl for me to spend time with,” Wen Qing said with a sigh.

“What? I’m not good enough for you?” Nie Huaisang huffed, mock-offended. “How many girlish arts to I have to excel in, huh? I dress neat, I embroider, I…uh…”

She poked him in the forehead. “I was just saying that it might be nice to have someone else, that’s all. Ideally someone who is actually my gender. But I’m not anywhere desperate enough to spend time with someone like that.”

The young lady in question, Ma Liyuan, was arrogant and self-absorbed, closer to Nie Mingjue’s age – or maybe even Wen Xu’s, he hadn’t asked – than to Wen Chao’s, and seemed quite content with the circumstances that had brought her to and kept her in the Nightless City, provided that she was kept well supplied in new clothing and make-up. The morality, or lack thereof, of fucking her engaged-in-absentia fiancé’s father on the regular appeared not to matter in the slightest.

“I’m happy that she’s here,” Nie Mingjue said, and when they all looked at him strangely, he elaborated, “She’s been very distracting.”

He hadn’t had to go on anymore ‘walks’ with Wen Ruohan since she arrived, since there was really only so much time to spare for extracurricular activities in the busy schedule of a Sect Leader, and his mental state had improved dramatically as a result. He didn’t like the fact that his reprieve came at Wen Chao’s expense – at least Wen Chao was safely away in Gusu for the moment, and didn’t have to endure the wretched humiliation of it in person – but he couldn’t deny that it was, in fact, a reprieve.

“It won’t last,” Wen Xu predicted gloomily. “It never does, with his lovers. Father only ever cares about power; he’s fucking the promise of Henan land, not her, though I assume he also enjoys demeaning her in every way he can think of in the process. Honestly, I don’t know why Father didn’t just take her on as one of his own concubines if he was planning on doing this – why the charade?”

“Another plan to get A-Chao out of the line of succession?” Wen Ning suggested.

“Seems like too much effort for just that,” Wen Qing said, and Nie Mingjue nodded, agreeing. Wen Ruohan didn’t need a reason to disinherit somebody, but even if he wanted one, he only needed one, not a half-dozen.

“Perhaps he just wants A-Chao to become disappointing,” Nie Huaisang said, his chin on his hands. “To us, I mean, not to him. A-Chao’s prickly, you know – if you mixed together those vices he’s being tempted with and the humiliation he must feel when he hears about what’s going on here, he might get himself into something stupid. And then, well, you know A-Chao would be heartbroken if we turned away from him, and you know he’s not the most independent person. All he’d have left is him.”

“But we wouldn’t turn away from A-Chao even if he did disappoint us,” Nie Mingjue objected. “I’d break his legs if he tried to turn into some drunken wastrel, of course; scold him, refuse to let him out of his room, make him reflect and write reasons why he needed to stop, train him into the ground if necessary, but that’s hardly turning away from him. Who’d do something like that?”

Everyone looked at him fondly, as if he was a puppy that just performed a unique trick.

Nie Mingjue scowled at them. Hadn’t they respected him, once? Or was that his imagination?

“It’s a reasonable thought,” Wen Xu said, apparently opting to ignore Nie Mingjue’s view on the subject. “Divide and conquer is my father’s preferred method of attack, along with forcing people to suppress their own morals in order to reach a temporary compromise that he’ll only break further the next time. With Mingjue-xiong injured –”

He was fine. Physically, anyway. The mental scars didn’t count.

“– and A-Chao temporarily gone, his next goal will be one of us, no doubt. Perhaps we should preempt him.”

“Oooh, are we staging a fight?” Nie Huaisang asked, perking up. “I call spectator. Fight! Fight!”

Nie Mingjue reached over and tugged on his hair. “If there’s going to be a fight between the four of you, you are definitely getting involved, and not as a spectator. And speaking of fighting, Huaisang, where is your saber? Have you been practicing?”

Everybody laughed.

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #wen xu #wen chao #wen ning #wen qing #my fic #my fics #fire and light

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

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Fire and Light (ao3) - on tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3

- Chapter 4 -

Nie Mingjue attended his first discussion conference as a ward of the Wen sect rather than a son of the Nie sect and found it more or less the same misery as it had always been, except with the extra twist of everyone looking at him with pity in their eyes.

The Jiang sect averted their eyes the way they always did. For all his talk about attempting the impossible, the only impossible thing Jiang Fengmian had ever dreamt of was a peaceful life, and his wife was strong in power but bitter and vicious in spirit, parceling out her love and sympathy in small dollops as if she thought she would run out if she gave too much of it away. That being said, their indifference and purely superficial show of sympathy was still better than the steely eyes of the Jin sect, which looked right at him with nothing but empty calculation, as if weighing him to see what use they could get out of him.

Lan Qiren, at least, looked genuinely upset to see him standing there in Wen colors, a frown creasing his brow with distress. Nie Mingjue wondered cynically if the Lan sect would have preferred that he and his brother be dead as martyrs instead of living symbols of Wen cruelty that, despite all their high-flying talk of rules and ethics, the Lan sect would do absolutely nothing about.

Still, he had been the man’s student once, so he bowed his head politely and called him teacher when Lan Qiren came to speak with him during one of the rest periods between speeches.

“Are you well?” Lan Qiren asked. “You are not being mistreated…?”

“Would it make a difference if I was?” Nie Mingjue asked. When Lan Qiren flinched, he shrugged. “In that case, honorable teacher, I’m fine. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my brother; he needs to be properly prepared for the competitions later.”

A flimsy lie, intentionally so, and Nie Mingjue wondered if he really had picked up something of Qishan Wen cruelty after all. It was only that it hurt him to see them there, standing free and saying nothing – the Lan had once been the closest allies of the Nie sect, just as the Jiang and the Jin were often paired together – and he couldn’t quite resist wanting to make them hurt, too, no matter how much he knew it was beneath him.

You were friends with my father and they murdered him, he wanted to shout. Murdered him, and I had to watch him die twice over! How can I be well? How can you dare to ask that of me, have you been well, as if I were still free to speak my mind, to be straightforward and honest, without having to always think of the pain that will follow later?

Maybe Wen Ruohan’s lessons really were starting to sink in, he thought bitterly, and hated himself for it.

He still didn’t apologize to Lan Qiren, but he did go to find Nie Huaisang, making the lie into truth. There wasn’t any point in registering his useless brother in any of the physical competitions, of course, but at every discussion conference there were also smaller competitions in the arts – calligraphy, painting, poetry – and Nie Mingjue was more than willing to lose a little of the pocket money he received each month (pointlessly, since he wasn’t allowed to leave the main manor or visit the markets of the Nightless City for fear that he would try to run away or make a scene) in betting on his brother’s success in those.

He also bet on Wen Qing in the competition of doctors’ apprentices, and Wen Ning in alchemy, archery and weiqi; he even put some money on Wen Chao for mathematics and told him so.

Wen Chao gaped at him. “Me? Mathematics?”

“You always answer those questions faster than anyone else,” Nie Mingjue pointed out, and patted him on the head the way Wen Chao not-so-secretly liked. “Do your best. If you place in the top twenty, I’ll have the kitchens make something sweet that you won’t have to share, something just for you.”

“…could I share it anyway? If I wanted to.”

“Of course,” Nie Mingjue said, pleased by the unexpected question and happy to show it. “It’ll be yours. You can do anything you want with it, even share.”

There weren’t even a full forty people planning to compete in mathematics, so he was moderately confident that Wen Chao – who wasn’t as stupid as he sometimes let himself think he was – would be able to place somewhere decent, and even if he didn’t Nie Mingjue wouldn’t hold it against him. He wouldn’t demand perfection and then ignore it the way Wen Ruohan did.

“Mingjue-xiong!”

Nie Mingjue turned to see Lan Xichen hurrying over, insofar as the Lan sect ever hurried. Lan Xichen’s younger brother was probably also getting ready for the arts competition – the two of them would undoubtedly dominate the juniors’ music competition, as they always did, and probably many of the other juniors’ categories as well – so it wasn’t a surprise to see him there, but it was still nice. They’d only spent a few months together during the summer Nie Mingjue had spent at the Cloud Recesses, his father trying to get him away from politics for at least a short time, but they’d been friendly back then, maybe even friends, even though Lan Xichen was a couple of years younger than him.

“It’s good to see you,” Lan Xichen said, his voice warm. “I wanted to write you a letter, but everyone said it was a bad idea.”

“It probably is,” Nie Mingjue admitted. He didn’t even know what he’d say in response to such a letter – what he was allowed to say, and what he wasn’t. “It’s good to see you, too. Are you competing in the fights later on?”

“I am, though I’ve heard that the main competition this year – swordsmanship – is going to be melee style, which means you’re certain to wipe the floor with everyone. But I can at least hope to place, if nothing else.”

Melee style favored the saber and the aggressive style of the Nie, so Lan Xichen was probably right – it wasn’t as though the Nie sect had sent any disciples, given that it was still officially in mourning for its sect leader. Nie Mingjue should be in mourning, should be refusing to eat meat since he was too young for the obligation to refrain from sexual congress to matter much to him, but it had been pretty clear from his first day at the Nightless City that he would either eat meat or have it forced down his throat. In the end, he’d given up on all the rest of it as well. He could mourn later, when he was free.

Assuming he’d ever be free again.

“Pity you can’t bet on a competition you’re participating in,” he teased, and Lan Xichen did him the grace of at least pretending to smile back. “Maybe you can get ahead of me in archery instead.”

Lan Xichen snorted at that. “I’m still counted among the juniors for archery, while you’re with the seniors,” he reminded him. “But somehow I don’t think that would make much of a difference.”

“I’m not that good at archery,” Nie Mingjue protested cheerfully. “Besides, I haven’t been allowed to practice it in months, not since –”

He stopped, realizing what he’d just said, and what he’d been about to say, from the way Lan Xichen’s face turned pale.

“Don’t think about it,” he advised his friend, turning his head away. He didn’t want to see Lan Xichen’s face like that, all sick with grief. “I try not to.”

Lan Xichen squeezed his hands. “You’re still yourself,” he said. “As long as you can keep true to that, nothing else matters.”

Nie Mingjue hoped he was right.

Nie Mingjue won the melee but lost in archery to Wen Xu, which was a result that pleased them both – Nie Mingjue was still growing and didn’t have the arm strength necessary to fully pierce the target, which gave Wen Xu’s equally accurate hits the small advantage needed to win.

“You’ll win it next time,” Wen Xu told him, and Nie Mingjue shrugged. “You will! You’ve grown nearly a quarter chi in the time that I’ve known you, and you weren’t short to start with.”

“And maybe next time the fighting won’t be melee,” Nie Mingjue pointed out. “There are formats that favor the sword more.”

Not to mention that next time, the main event wouldn’t be the sword, since discussion conferences generally rotated between the various martial skills.

Wen Xu rolled his eyes at him, though, clearly disregarding his words, and Nie Mingjue didn’t disagree - despite his words, he was proud of what he’d achieved.

He was even more proud of the younger children, though: Wen Qing was first in her competition and pleased as a well-fed cat about it, Nie Huaisang had placed second in calligraphy and fifth in poetry, and Wen Ning had gotten seventh in alchemy, his best result in years given his usual anxiety about performing in public. Wen Chao was the biggest surprise, having actually managed to come in fourth in mathematics, and everyone crowded around him, congratulating him, even as he stumbled around in a daze.

“He’d never tried to do well before,” Wen Xu said, catching Nie Mingjue’s gaze and his train of thought with it. “There wasn’t any point, since Father doesn’t care about the smaller competitions, only the main event, and mathematics is never a main event.”

“Surely the fun of winning is motivation enough?” Nie Mingjue asked. “He did well enough this year without advance study that he’d be sure to place in the top three in the next discussion conference if he really put in some effort.”

“He didn’t actually think he’d win,” Wen Xu said dryly. “He just didn’t want you to lose money.”

Nie Mingjue was about to explain that he didn’t care about the money – he wasn’t allowed to go spend it, as Wen Xu knew, and he didn’t see much point in hoarding it when it could be taken away just as easily as it was given – but then the children saw them coming and ran over.

Nie Huaisang in the lead, shouting, “Da-ge! Da-ge! You won!”

“Of course he won,” Wen Chao snapped at him, but in a good-natured, excited sort of way. “Who else did you think was going to win?”

“We all bet on you,” Wen Qing told him.

“Oh, come now,” he protested. “Someone should have bet on Wen Xu!”

“I would have told them off if they had,” Wen Xu said. “Well done. How much did we win?”

“We? Wen Xu! You can’t bet on your own matches!”

“Oh no,” Wen Xu said drolly. “Is that so? My mistake. I must have missed that.”

“Can’t you at least try to make it sound convincing…?”

Wen Ruohan was pleased with the results of the discussion conference. He made them stand up and recite their accomplishments at dinner, nodding as they did, and when he was done treating them like dancing monkeys, he told Wen Xu, “Next time, you come in first,” and swept out without another word.

“What a shitheel,” Nie Mingjue said, a little blankly. To not even give a single word of praise…!

“He can hear you,” Wen Chao hissed, horrified, glancing at the door.

“He was talking about someone else,” Nie Huaisang said quickly. “That person back at the conference – you remember?”

“Of course, of course, yes, I remember,” Wen Qing said. “That person. He was definitely a shitheel.”

Nie Mingjue felt the warmth of their affection, and it only made Wen Ruohan’s negligence rub his heart the wrong way even more.

“You all did wonderfully,” he told them, since someone should. “And I have no doubt that you will do even better at the next conference. You should be proud of yourselves. I’m certainly proud of you.”

He remembered that much, at least, when he woke up two days later, the magnitude of the beating he’d received for his impertinence having apparently knocked the rest of the day cleanly out of his head. There was some more afterwards that he’d said, apparently, but he remembered the important point, and he didn’t want to press any further; the others looked so miserable already.

“Maybe this’ll teach you a lesson,” Wen Xu said, and flinched when Wen Chao kicked him in the shins and ran away sobbing. “I didn’t - I just meant…”

“No, no, I understand,” Nie Mingjue said. The advice had been meant kindly, even if it was phrased badly.

Wen Qing huffed. “I bet you don’t,” she said, rubbing her nose, her own eyes suspiciously red. “What is it exactly you think you’ve learned?”

“Wait until he’s out of earshot to call him a –”

“I am going to smother you with your own robes,” Nie Huaisang announced. “Or at least gag you for your own good. Who’s with me?”

Nie Mingjue raised his one hand that still worked in surrender at the array of murderous glares in front of him. “Don’t attack me, I’m injured?”

No one seemed very impressed with that argument.

“You can’t do that again,” Wen Ning said quietly. His fingers were tight on the blanket. “Okay? You need to be more careful.”

“I don’t know if I can be,” Nie Mingjue said honestly. He was born with a mind as straightforward as the clean slice of a saber – what he felt, he thought; what he thought, he said. He was trying to learn politics and diplomacy, but it was hard on him, difficult. He was not and would not ever be a subtle man. “I’ll try, though.”

“Good,” Wen Xu said. “We need you to stick around.”

Nie Mingjue wasn’t sure why – he felt more and more extraneous these days, with no sect of his own to inherit and little purpose to life other than his determination that Nie Huaisang, and now the others, live as good a life as possible under Wen Ruohan’s endless tyranny – but he nodded agreeably.

They didn’t seem quite satisfied with that.

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #wen xu #wen chao #wen ning #wen qing #lan xichen #my fic #my fics #fire and light

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merinnan · 5 years ago

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Nevermore - Part 11

AO3 | Nevermore Masterlist

The mess hall was quiet at this time of the day, something that Lan Xichen was quite grateful for. It meant that he could sit in peace with Wen Qionglin, taking some time to relax and calm his mind after today’s series of surprises before the tour of the Shatterdome continued.

“You look like you’re feeling better now, Lan-xiansheng,” Wen Qionglin said as they finished their tea. At Lan Xichen’s questioning look, he added, “a couple of times today you’ve looked a little pale, but you don’t anymore.”

Lan Xichen nodded. “Thank you. It was nothing to worry about, really. It’s just that coming back is a lot to adjust to. But I’m feeling more settled already.” He smiled, putting his cup to one side. “Science labs next, didn’t you say?” There, at least, he was reasonably sure that he wouldn’t come across any more unpleasant reminders.

After clearing their table, the pair left the mess hall, taking a right turn exactly where Lan Xichen expected that they would.

“Down there is…”

“…the infirmary, right?” Lan Xichen smiled at the look of surprise. “That’s where it is in Hong Kong and Tokyo, too. Probably every other Shatterdome as well.”

“Ah….oh…yes.” Wen Qionglin gave him an awkward smile in return. “You, um, probably don’t even need me to show you around, do you? Well, uh, apart from introducing you to everyone, I guess….”

“That I definitely need you for,” Lan Xichen assured him. “And even if the layout here is like the other Shatterdomes that I’m familiar with, it’s much nicer to re-familiarise myself with the layouts in company, rather than alone.”

Wen Qionglin nodded, pausing in front of the science lab doors, which opened right as he was about to reply. Loud shouting could be heard as a young man hurried out, pushing the door closed behind him while juggling an armful of files. As the top files started to slide off towards the floor, Lan Xichen reached out to grab them and to steady the pile as the man shifted from foot to foot, biting his lip as he looked at them both. Something about him struck Lan Xichen as incredibly familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Oh…uh…Wen-xiong! And, uh…” He blinked at Lan Xichen, then noticed him sliding the files back into place. “Oh! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” Lan Xichen gave him a small bow. “I’m Lan Xichen.”

“Mo Xuanyu,” he responded, starting to return the bow, then stopping to grab his files from making another escape to the floor.

“Mo Xuanyu is part of the science team,” Wen Qionglin said. “Xuanyu, Lan Xichen is Purple Lightning’s pilot. He just arrived today.” He gestured to the door, which wasn’t quite dampening out the angry voices beyond. “Is there a problem.”

“No, not really.” Mo Xuanyu pulled a face. “It’s just Gottlieb-xiansheng and Geiszler-xiansheng again.”

Gottlieb and Geiszler? Now those were two more names that Lan Xichen knew.

“What is it this time?”

“Uh…Gottlieb-xiansheng didn’t like Geiszler-xiansheng’s music…” Mo Xuanyu trailed off and flinched at a particularly loud shout, the words of which were still indistinct. “I’ve…uh…got to get these files to Sang-ge and Su-jie. It was nice meeting you, Lan-xiansheng! Welcome to Shanghai!”

With that, he turned and almost fled down the corridor away from the science labs. Wen Qionglin gave a small sigh, shaking his head. “Mo Xuanyu hasn’t done well with people being angry ever since he had a bad Drift experience,” he explained. “Which is a shame. He’s really quite nice.”

“He was a ranger?” Lan Xichen asked. Maybe that was where the sense of familiarity came from, if the young man had been a recent addition before his…injury.

“A cadet. It was towards the end of his training, and on paper Eagleton-yishi thought it was a good match for Drift compatibility, but…”

“…but in practice, they weren’t compatible at all?” Lan Xichen finished. Wen Qionglin nodded.

“They were compatible enough to initiate a successful neural handshake, but it broke soon afterwards. The prospective partner had some…anger issues…and Mo Xuanyu found the experience of sharing minds with him traumatising enough that he left the program and joined K-science rather than try Drifting again.”

Lan Xichen winced at that. That was a rather severe mismatch, and he found himself hoping that he wouldn’t have any similar unfortunate incidents in his own process of getting a new co-pilot.

“He’s an excellent scientist,” Wen Qionglin continues. “He and Nie Huaisang work quite closely together. Unfortunately, some of the other scientists – well, two in particular – are a bit, um, volatile.”

“I know Geiszler-xiansheng and Gottlieb-xiansheng,” Lan Xichen said. “I’ve never known them to get along.”

“Mn.” Wen Qionglin looked at the door, then at Lan Xichen. “Uh…unless you really want to look through the labs, why don’t we leave them to it and move on?”

“I’m happy to leave the science to the scientists,” Lan Xichen agreed. “I know where to find them if I need them.”

~~~

LOCCENT Mission Control looked exactly as Lan Xichen remembered from Hong Kong, a bustling nerve centre of screens and terminals overlooking the main room. He gave polite greetings to various technicians before Wen Qionglin introduced him to Shanghai’s Mission Controller, a quiet and charming woman named Qin Su. Like Mo Xuanyu not that long before, something about Qin Su struck Lan Xichen as familiar, although not quite to the same extent.

He mentioned this to Wen Qionglin once they’d left and were on their way to the Academy’s section of the Shatterdome. “But I’m sure I’ve never met her before,” he added at the end.

“Ah, well…she’s Mo Xuanyu’s half-sister,” the other man replied. “You must have just noticed some similarities between them.”

“Perhaps…but why did Mo Xuanyu seem familiar to me?”

Wen Qionglin hmms thoughtfully for a moment. “Do you know Jin Zixuan? The head of Jin Enterprises?”

“Know of. I’ve seen him on TV. He was all over the news last year when he married the head of Jiang Corporation. And then again when his father died and he took over Jin Enterprises.”

A nod. “He’s half-brother to both Qin Su and Mo Xuanyu.”

“Hmmm.” Lan Xichen frowned. “I suppose that might explain it…”

“Or maybe you’ve previously met one of them in passing?” Wen Qionglin suggested. “Oh, good, jiejie is in!” He stopped in front of a door with the name ‘Wen Qing’ on the nameplate, light sneaking out under the crack. Before Lan Xichen could say anything, Wen Qionglin had opening the door and stepped inside, gesturing for Lan Xichen to follow him.

“…to me again?” a man’s voice was saying from within. Lan Xichen stepped inside, pausing when he saw a woman in a black suit with her back to the door. In her hands she held a violet ribbon, and was combing her fingers through the hair of someone sitting on the sofa in front of her – likely the man who’d just spoken.

“Because you love me,” the woman said as dark hair ran through her fingers. Lan Xichen felt his ears starting to go red, and he shot Wen Qionglin a pleading look for them to leave before they were noticed, as they’d evidently walked in on a private moment between this couple. Wen Qionglin, however, didn’t seem to notice.

“Qing-jie?” he said instead. The woman froze for a moment, then pushed the ribbon towards the man on the sofa, and turned to face Wen Qionglin and Lan Xichen.

“A-Ning!” She gave the young man a gentle smile, which turned to a more assessing look as she turned to Lan Xichen. “And this would be Lan Xichen.”

She didn’t seem outwardly annoyed at being interrupted, for which Lan Xichen breathed a small sigh of relief. He stepped forward to introduce himself properly, only to be interrupted by a loud thump. He gave a startled look at the source of the noise, being the – now empty? – sofa. The woman, whom he presumed was Wen Qing, looked over the edge of the sofa and just shook her head.

“You…did you fall off the sofa?”

“No,” came a grumpy voice from somewhere on the floor in front of the sofa. “…maybe.”

A few moments of shuffling sounds later, the man got to his feet, pushing long hair out of his face – a very attractive face, Lan Xichen had to admit, for all that it was both bright red and bore an impressive scowl. He found himself sympathising with the man’s obvious embarrassment – not only had his girlfriend’s brother and a complete stranger intruded without warning, he’d also somehow fallen off of the sofa in front of them. He gave the man a bright, reassuring smile, which only served to cause both blush and scowl to deepen.

“Are…are you alright, Jiang-xiong?” Wen Qionglin asked.

“I’m fine,” the man responded, his voice sounding just as pleased as his expression looked. As he pulled his hair back and tied it with the ribbon in his hand, Lan Xichen belatedly realised where he’d seen that violet ribbon and this nicely muscled build before – this was the man from the lecture earlier, the one who’d been shouting. A moment after that, he realised that he was not only checking out a man who already had a partner, but doing so in front of her. With a small cough of embarrassment, he tore his eyes away to look back at Wen Qing, giving her a small bow.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Yes, I’m Lan Xichen.”

“We’ve been expecting you,” she said. “I’m Wen Qing, the psych analyst here in Shanghai.”

“Jiang Wanyin,” said the man beside her. “The fightmaster.”

Lan Xichen smiled again. “I’ve heard of you, Jiang-xiansheng,” he said. Jiang Wanyin immediately tensed up. “Song Zichen and Xiao Xingchen spoke highly of you when I met them.” At that, the tension eased somewhat.

“They’re good people,” Jiang Wanyin said.

“Jiang Cheng and I are sorting out the candidate lists for your co-pilot,” Wen Qing said. Jiang Cheng. Lan Xichen filed that away. “I know I would like you to come in and speak with me so that I can get to know you better as a person rather than as a file before I finalise my recommendations, and I’m sure Jiang Cheng would like something similar.”

The man in question nodded, folding his arms in front of him and looking Lan Xichen over. “I want to see how you fight for myself. You’ve been out of the field for four years, after all, with major rehabilitation during that time.”

“The physiotherapists…”

“I know what the physio reports said. I said I want to see for myself. And see how you work with others during training.” He nods to the smaller woman beside him. “Like Wen Qing said, I’d rather see how the man operates, not the file.”

“Of course.” Lan Xichen gave him another easy smile. “Until the Marshal says otherwise, I’m at your disposal. Both of you.”

Jiang Wanyin just grunts at that. “Good. Come to the combat room tomorrow at 8am. I’m sure Wen Ning will show you where it is.”

“Of course,” Wen Qionglin replied.

“It’s a date,” Lan Xichen said, then mentally kicked himself as Jiang Wanyin flushed again, then gave another scowl before stooping to grab some files from the table in front of the sofa.

“I should get going,” he said to Wen Qing. “See you tomorrow. You as well. 8am,” he added to Lan Xichen, then strode out the door.

#pacific rim #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #chen qing ling #mdzs #cql #nevermore #fanfic #xicheng #jiang cheng #lan xichen

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