#wen sect

[whetstonefires]

On my list of things it would be fun to see expanded on in fic is also: Wen Ning's subordinates.

They followed him to Lotus Pier when he went running of his own volition in hopes of helping Wei Wuxian; helped him get Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian out and smuggle them into Yiling despite this being highly treasonous. (Cql decided to remove this and replace it with Wen Ning poisoning everybody, which was very funny and probably the right choice for the adaptation. But still.)

Were still with him, presumably less some fatalities, after the war, when Jin Zixun pressganged the lot and they wound up at Qiongqi Pass.

We can fairly confidently presume the survivors of that made up a solid fraction of the escapees who followed Wei Wuxian out, when the Jiang's nightmare necromancer took their gongzi's corpse and unconscious sister and the baby, and rode hell for leather.

All Wen Qing says about this group is that they're all yes-men like Wen Ning, and if Wei Wuxian got to know any of them at all during the Burial Mounds period, it doesn't make it into the book.

So we have the information that Wen Ning, who was after all fairly high-ranking by heredity being the child of the sect leader's first cousin, even if his personal rank was relatively low due to lack of accomplishments, had surrounded himself with nice people who were personally loyal to him.

He was not a loner! He had very possibly the most access to the company of people who liked him of anybody in the book! He was anxious and bullied by his higher-ranking cousins and insecure but he wasn't alone.

Idk I'm personally curious about these people and how they interpreted everything that happened, and what kind of relationship Wen Ning had with them, and if in another storyline any of them might have done anything interesting.

Wen Ning, too, is one of the cast members who could absolutely have held up a whole novel on his own. Well. With a lot of backup from Wen Qing, anyway. He'd be a perfectly serviceable protagonist, and I appreciate that.

[yudidoodles]

The audio drama really went for the heartstrings with the Wen remnants like holy shit really just had to show this mans forming connections with these people even more huh

This is one of the other lines that has killed me each time I am a SUCKER for repeated phrases gaining new meaning

[fengshenjunlang]

It's funny to think that a lot of MDZS readers regard Wen Qing-Wen Ning as direct cousins with Wen Xu-Wen Chao, so whenever something happen with the Wen Direct members, some fanfic writers always make up a plot that it will be Wen Qing who inherit the throne.

But they are not. They're a branch family. Being nephews or Nieces to Wen Ruohan is just the general position, but the distance from the main line is who knows how long it is.

There are cousins you will never meet for the rest of your lives, even for modern Asians, let alone ancient BIG Clan. Even for strangers from thousands of miles away, they could be your cousin from something and another ancestry.

Remember how Wen Chao didn't even recognize Wen Ning? Aside from Wen Chao's self-centered personality, it's also proof that Wen Qing's family should have little to no interaction to the main branch of the Wen Clan. Wen Qing was known due to her talent. Not because how close their family branch is to the main family.

What I mean is that, even if something did happen to the Wen Clan direct family, it will be still a long way to come for Wen Qing let alone Wen Ning to inherit the position of a Leader. There should still be Seniors from generation above her who have more rights and closer to the main branch in inheritor line. No matter how popular or how important Wen Qing's job is in the Sect.

Because QishanWen is not a Sect but a Clan. Their inheritance system is not based on ability but blood relationship.

[lady-rhaena]

We don’t talk enough about Sizhui, the last living member of the Wen clan, trying to learn and reconnect to his family and heritage after the events of the story.

I am glad that we got to know about his trip to Qishan and that he learned the Wen style of swordsmanship from his uncle.

[lewiscarrolatemybrain]

Reading about the cultural and social importance of bathing throughout Chinese history (because I am exactly the kind of person who spends hours reading about the cultural and social importance of bathing throughout Chinese history for no particular reason on a Tuesday night) and obviously now I'm imagining the sects all lowkey competing with regards to their public baths -- or at least the ones meant for visiting disciples and dignitaries.

The Jin are obviously doing The Most and being incredibly tacky about it. The floor of the bath is made of gold tile that dull super quickly and the whole tub needs to be frequently drained so the tiles can be deep cleaned and polished, and of course once they're shiny they reflect light up and through the water in a way that's actually really distracting. The bath bean has crushed pearls and seventy four different types of flowers in it. The benches are intricately engraved and inlaid with gems in places that pinch your butt when you sit on them.

The Nie have a natural hot spring that they have turned into their main public bath. The massive cavern houses a number of varying-sized pools, some of which interconnect and others of which are freestanding. The free standing pools are typically treated with different soaks to give the water various medicinal properties (most often for things like muscle aches or minor injuries, but also for skincare and such.) I imagine the Nie recipe for bath-bean would include animal fat and pancreas, making it very rich and cleansing.

Part of me wants to say the Jiang would just bathe in the lake but that seems cheap to me, so instead: Through a combination of well-placed pipes and clever array work, the Jiang bath house feels like a mini indoor rainstorm, with water falling in thousands of warm droplets from the ceiling above to fill the pools, which are more shallow that a typical bath would be. There are built-in overhangs you can sit under to get out of the "rain" while still being in the water. If requested the rain can be "turned up" and the lights dimmed, and cymbals crash so you feel like you're really standing out in a raging thunderstorm, which some people find incredibly soothing and others find terrifying. I can't think of anything unique for the bath bean other than lotus flowers but I do think, given the proximity to the river, that mud wraps would be a common treatment offered.

The Lan... probably have the worst public baths, actually. They may not even actually have a public bath at all. If they do have one, it's not meant to be a place of luxury or entertainment, although of course it would be tastefully decorated and comfortable. Rather they'd find some way to make public bathing less about socializing and more about silently meditating while pretending you aren't surrounded by other naked people. I guess the cold springs kind of sort of count as a public bath but not really. Bath bean smells distinctly medicinal, but obviously whatever is in it works, because the Lan all look Like That.

The public bath in Qishan stopped being a popular attraction when Wen Ruohan stopped having visitors, but for years their bath was one hell of a marvel. Massive, bronze statues of phoenixes would be heated until glowing-hot and then lowered into the stone tub, filling the air with thick steam. Patrons would sit around the room on their benches, sweating it out until the statues had cooled enough for the water to be safe to enter. If you wanted a cold bath, the adjoining room was also home to a massive bronze statue, this one of a dragon that sat in the center of the tub and poured cool water out of it's mouth. Bath bean was made with plant ash rather than rice or soybean powder, and the water was all treated with volcanic ash.

And, because I am Me, the Wei sect: I'm imagining a dark hall deep in the cave systems, the floor lined with man made in-ground pools of varying sizes not entirely unlike the Nie baths, however these pools aren't connected to an outside water source or each other. There are illusion arrays carved into the walls that send out glowing, ghostly shapes of fish and otters and other river creatures swimming through the air. The pools are filled through overhead pipes that pour water, oils, and herbal mixtures into the pool, and each pool has access to it's own set of labeled levers, so a person or group of people can customize their bath while they're having it, adding more cool water, hot water, or various add-ins. The bath bean is more of a paste due to the addition of a ton of collagen. (They get it from the kitchen's bone broth. The bones are not human, but that doesn't stop visiting disciples from scaring each other about it. Don't piss off the Yiling Louzu or you'll end up in the soap.)

[plotbunnyhell]

Red Shirt Disciple's Self-Saving Cultivation

Gongyi Xiao died with plenty of regrets, wishing he could’ve done more. Now in the body of Wen Xiao, recently adopted political tool and all around scum of the earth, he thinks he’d rather go back to being peacefully dead after all.

Look. Look. Listen. This was meant to be gongyi xiao/wen ning, the ship is called DeservedBetter and they would be so good for each other please im begging you theyre so cute.

Ahem. Anyway yeah, GYX is now a recently "adopted" scion of an annexed clan, eventually decides he doesn't like the wens all that much (except for WQ and WN, theyre ok) and proceeds to sabotage the war as much as possible.

Also sm smth theres a rift to SVSSS in the burial mounds (if GYX and LBH see each other again it might lead to murder, yay!)

[lurkinginnernarrator]

Do we talk about the tragedy of Wen Ning enough? I think not.

From a young age, Wen Ning's support has come from Wen Qing, she parentified herself out of necessity and love for Wen Ning. Watching your older sibling beat out their childishness and innocence, for your sake, that is a special type of torture.

Now Wen Ning has to grow up watching Wen Qing shoulder the weight of leading the branch clan and bearing Wen Ruohan's attention.

And there's nothing Wen Ning can do.

Fast-forward to Post-Sunshot Campaign, Wen Ning and Wen Qing are separated. Can you image the fear that Wen Ning lived in for his sister's life? She was Wen Ruohan's doctor. Because of Wen Qing's hands he lived long enough to cull the lives of thousands for his own greed.

He's in a labour camp, surrounded by the most vulnerable members of his clan, watching as dozens are snuffed out for senseless cruelty in the name of 'justice'.

He suffers under that same cruelty, but knowing the virtuous and selfless nature of Wen Ning his spirit was definitely more devastated by the suffering of his family and the unknown fate of his sister.

Repeatedly beaten and abused, Wen Ning spends heaven knows how long there, watching his family dwindle down from hundreds to dozens.

And finally, he joins them. He died for nothing. He died not knowing if Wen Qing was even alive.

That's not even bringing up watching Wei Wuxian sacrifice so much for you, your family.

Just think about how that kind of experience would eternally and deeply wound someone as kind as Wen Ning.

And finally, after fighting and living finally all your family is slaughtered. Down to the last child. Wen Qing is burned to ashes.

I don't think I'll be able to cover his existence as a sentient fierce corpse, but think for yourself, the blessing, the curse that is such a 'life'.

The blessing of being able to live a few more years with your family, yet the curse of being unable to join them in death.

And while he might have trusted Wei Wuxian with control of his body, there is always the possibility someone like Xue Yang could come and force him into thrall.

Yes, the tragedy of Wen Ning.

[hualiansz]

the flashback with a-yuan ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

i love them.

[blubiboom]

SLUUUUUUURP PART #3!!!!  🌸💖

[thelyinggrapevine]

MDZS Headcanons (Master list)

Hello everyone!

This is going to be a master list of all of my headcanons that I've been putting on a Google Doc for a couple years now (that was mainly just collecting dust in my drive but we don't talk abt that). I decided that maybe I could post these, just to see what others think!

I use some-if not all-of these headcanons in all my "Canon Relevant" fics (both published or not) and I've been recently trying to update them and add more, especially to the Jin, Nie, and Wen Sect areas!

Below are the links to each section of headcanons, as if I posted them all together as they are in my Docs, it would be quite long.

----------

Jiang Sect

Jin Sect

Lan Sect

Nie Sect

Wen Sect

Extra Headcanons (+ Relationship Dynamic Headcanons)

[sandradaffodils]

Character design of Madam Wen or Ya Li in my fix! Personally this one is my favorite as it gave me headache and courage to draw something bold🤣

[kettledemon]

I would like to imagine that Wen Qing and Wen Xu had a rivalry on whose little brother was the cutest (it’s wen Ning, it’s always him) and would just glare at each other when passing by

[sylviesoothsayer22]

Outshined By The Moon's Brilliance

Wen Ruohan x Wei Ying

Premise: This is a Time Travel AU, so WWX has already meddled with canon by building his own Demonic Sect + recruiting familiar faces. All his scheming led to his sect being invited to the Wen hunting competition where he gets a shocking revelation....

The air felt so dry that it made the nostrils sting and lips crack, the occasional breeze carrying a vague scent of sulphur. If one were to take a deep enough breath, they would taste a faint metallic tinge at the back of their tongues. Outsiders were constantly reminded of the lava rivers flowing throughout Qishan, as well as its oppressive heat. The sun had just reached its apex, its light bleaching the sky a whitish-blue, the intense rays bearing down on the crowd, bathing their colourful robes with golden light, making them shine all the brighter. Beads of sweat running down crinkled brows, boots scuffing against gravel in a nervous dance, eyes suspiciously flickering from the high altar where the Five Great Sect Leaders were supposed to sit and then back at the -now- raised flags, the atmosphere wrought with barely restrained agitation.

Quiet chatter drifted into unwilling ears, though the more composed members of the crowd tried to not let it bother them, they couldn’t help but agree with the gossipers.

The whole arrangement made no sense.

Sect leaders kept their expressions neutral as their disciples pointed at the flags, whispering to each other:

There were supposed to be Five Great Sects, all their leaders accounted for.

So, why was there a sixth flag snapping against the wind?

The new flag in question had, unlike its companions, a pitch black background, with a blood-red crescent moon skilfully stitched at the centre, a snow-white huli jing was depicted, peacefully sleeping at the crescent’s crook, its nine tails lazily drooping downwards, flowing beneath the red moon in a colourless waterfall.

By itself it was a beautiful flag, the calmer ones mused.

What was causing such a ruckus was the group that the flag was attached to.

“Isn’t that…?” 

“It is! It is!” 

“But why would Wen Zongzhu invite that lot?! And to give them a seat at the table…?” 

“I’m still having trouble here…Wasn’t ‘that’ sect just a myth?” 

“This must be some kind of test! Why else would Wen Zongzhu request that clan of demons to come here?!”

“Is he trying to start a feud here and now?!” Nie Clan Heir, Nie Mingjue, quietly hissed under his breath. Choosing to focus on the altar’s highest seat, meant for Wen Zhangmen, as opposed to the main oddity. (while all the other leaders’ places were at the bottom of the altar. The young man noted with a sneer.) 

Nie Cídǐng settled a large hand on his eldest’s shoulder, firmly squeezing. “Now is not the time to make a scene, son. I’ll discuss it with Wen Zhangmen after the competition.” He murmured in his heir’s ear, thankful that all the chatter seemed to have blocked out his words from the nearby Wen disciples. He only let go when he sensed the younger forcing his tense frame to relax.

Nie Zhangmen immediately straightened his posture once he heard the heralds beating on the drums, ready to start announcing his and the others’ titles. 

“The Head of the Qinghe Nie Sect, Head of the Nie Clan!”

Giving his heir one last warning look, Nie Cídǐng stepped away from his eldest. Quietly taking a deep breath through his nose, the clan leader arranged his features into a more neutral expression and walked through a path the crowd of young cultivators made for him. Shoulders set and pace steady. 

“The Head of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, Head of the Jiang Clan!”

Though the man was able to keep a polite smile plastered on his face, seasoned observers noticed the nervous twitch in Jiang Fengmian’s brow as he made his way to where Nie Cídǐng was standing, waiting for the rest of his fellow sect leaders at the foot of the altar. 

“The Head of the Gusu Lan Sect, Head of the Lan Clan!”

Still holding the rank of the most composed one of their group, Lan Qiren’s face hardly hinted at how he felt about the strangeness of the whole situation. It was only because he knew the man for years that Nie Cídǐng could see the tightness in the -usually unruffled- sect leader’s eyes as he got closer to the other two.

“The Head of the Lanling Jin Sect, Head of the Jin Clan!” 

Incomes the yellow eyesor -ahem!- Jin Zhangmen. That overly decorous fan of his open and hiding the bottom half of his face. Nie Cídǐng took note of the frivolous man’s attempt at acting coy, but it seems that Jin Zongzhu couldn’t stop his eyes from flitting suspiciously at the new addition among the flags. A greedy gleam in his gaze. 

“The Head of the Yiling Wei Sect, Head of the Wei Clan!”

Finally…. Nie Cídǐng thought.

Although, Wei Zongzhu wasn’t the only one walking down the path.

He brought his right-hand and left-hand with him, both men half a stride behind their superior. Their sect’s black outer robes and red inner robes swishing with every step. 

Despite the fact that all three men came from the same sect, none of their outer robes were a perfect match.

Wei Zhangmen’s right-hand, Meng Ruiqi, appeared to be the most unassuming of the trio. Hands folded at the waist, a gentle, near-feminine face that was smiling serenely, eyes closed and head bowed in a subservient manner, giving off a calm, demure air. His black outer robes were dotted with Lily of the Valley flowers along the shoulders and sleeves. Both hands, one folded atop the other, resulted in the long sleeves to interconnect, the embroidery on the cuffs overlapping, forming into a completed Lily of the Valley branch. 

It was only through Nie Cídǐng’s eagle-eyes and the sun hitting the reserved man’s black robes just so , did the sabre-wielder realise that there were additional details. 

Webs. Intricately woven black threads, the shade almost blending perfectly with its dark background, forming into spiderwebs carefully stitched on the shoulder and sleeve areas. The parts where the webs were supposed to interconnect to form a centre appeared to be covered up by the white, bell-shaped flowers. 

Not knowing why he felt slightly unsettled by the abnormal design choice, Nie Cídǐng chose to aim his focus at the man on the left.

Xue Chengmei was the exact opposite of his seemingly harmless-looking partner.  

Leisurely walking behind his sect leader with his arms interlocking behind his head in a rather inappropriately casual manner, the young man could easily give one the impression of an impish youth with a boyish charm, if it wasn’t for that canine-like smile of his. Xue Chengmei would catch the eye of whoever stared at him for too long and split his lips further, showing more of his teeth in a wide grin that was just plain unnerving, forcing others to look elsewhere. The design of his black robes had one dark-green snake stitched on both sides, their heads resting on each shoulder, long bodies stretched across the torso, tail-ends interweaving around the waist. Blending perfectly with the green belt that had a scale-like pattern. 

Nie Cídǐng carefully observed the grinning man’s style of wear.

The bottom of his robes stopped at the ankles, offering more legroom, long boots that were suitable for combat and leather bracers securely wrapped around his wrists, keeping his wide sleeves tied.

A manic fighter. He thought. Someone who’s ready to jump into the fray should a brawl break out.

Nie Cídǐng’s gaze at last settled on the main attraction. Eyes meticulously studying the one at the centre who was steadily making his way to their little group. 

Wei Fàngrèn truly was an enigma.

The man made his debut in the cultivation world with little to no fanfare. No prior warnings of someone experimenting or doing Heavens’ know what with demonic qi, no whisper of a young genius capable of inventing bizarre gadgets that would make the most perilous of Night Hunts end with hardly any injury or casualty. 

And was able to build his own sect from the ground up in less than ten years.

If Nie Cídǐng didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought Wei Zongzhu just decided to pop into existence one day, leaving every cultivator scratching their heads. 

Nobody even knows the demonic cultivator’s exact age and he refused to associate himself with any established sect, all they had were rumours. 

A walking quandary at its finest…

In a single breath, all chatter ceased. The crowd watched with trepidation as the mysterious cultivator, whom they only heard about through hearsay, quietly make his way to the foot of the altar. Not even his fluttering robes made a sound. 

The man’s choice of wear easily had the most simple design. Crimson spider-lilies encircling the cuff of his sleeves, most of the flowers clustered at the tail-end of his robe, forming into a red trail thinning out as it went up. A plunging neckline cut through the red of his inner robe, revealing the pale expanse of his chest, the style ill-suited for the current occasion, along with a weimao to complete the look, its sheer curtain made of black silk, concealing their wearer’s face. 

However, the hidden face was only one of two peculiarities about the man.

Most of the disciples couldn’t help but stare at the snow-white hair streaming down the strange man’s back, while the braver ones of the crowd tried to tuck their chins to their chests, straining their eyes in order to catch a glimpse of the new arrival’s face beneath the black silk of his weimao. 

After what felt like an eternity, but was in fact only a few moments, Wei Zongzhu slowed to a stop in front of the gathered sect leaders. Cupping his hands and offering a silent bow as his first greeting to them.

The four of them nodded back and waited for the new arrival to introduce himself properly.

He did not. Instead, Wei Zhangmen straightened his spine and waved off his two subordinates. Both men merely bowed their heads and walked off to join the crowd, among a small gathering of young disciples -who everyone had just realised- were wearing their sect’s colours. 

Letting out a quiet huff of disapproval at Wei Zongzhu’s lacklustre greeting, Lan Qiren turned his back on the four and climbed up the altar. The rest slowly followed behind.

None of them spoke a single word after settling into their assigned seats. All forming one line, with Wei Zongzhu being the closest to Wen Ruohan’s elevated seat, Nie Cídǐng at his left, then Lan Qiren and Jin Guangshan. Jiang Fengmian being the furthest away from Wei Fàngrèn. 

Yet it was Jiang Zongzhu who started making a fuss over Wei Fàngrèn.

The moment Wei Zhangmen took off his weimao, Jiang Fengmian let out an audible gasp which-thanks to the suffocating silence- travelled all the way to the back of the crowd.

Nie Cídǐng snapped his head, taking a brief -enough for the sake of propriety- look at the face revealed to him.

White eyebrows, white lashes, a slanted nose, elegant features that looked to be meticulously carved, pale-pink lips, twisted into a blank smile, a beauty mark dotting the corner of his mouth, liquid-silver eyes, that long mane -snowy all the way to the roots - held up by a simple crimson ribbon. 

Nie Cídǐng looked back at his fellow sect leader, now confused.

Certainly Wei Zongzhu had a radiance that was beyond natural, but he never took Jiang Zhangmen as the type to lose his composure over a pretty face.

(The pig -Jin Guangshan- certainly wasn’t doing any better. Almost dropping his fan, mouth gaping like a fish, openly staring at the newcomer like a mongrel salivating over a slab of meat.

Nie Cídǐng decided then and there that he was going to stay by Wei Zongzhu’s side until the end of the competition. Someone had to help the newcomer ward off that dog’s advances.)

Jiang Zhangmen was also gawking at Wei Fàngrèn, eyes running over the man’s features, a look of familiarity on his face, desperately searching for…. something in the demonic cultivator’s face.

Interestingly enough, Lan Qiren was also carefully studying Wei Fàngrèn’s face. Brow crinkled and mouth stiff, as if he was reminded of an unpleasant dish he was forced to eat long ago. 

For his part, Wei Fàngrèn met the chaos he unwittingly made head-on. That smile never leaving his face, though Nie Cídǐng couldn’t help but notice the slight strain behind that nonchalant facade. 

The enigma tilted his head to the side, much like a curious cat, short strands of white hair falling around his face, framing his features. Waiting for someone to break the silence.

The drums started beating once more….

“The Head of the Qishan Wen Sect, Head of the Wen Clan!”

All of them stiffened and snapped their heads forward. Waiting for the last member of their group to join.

Nie Cídǐng resisted the urge to purse his lips in disapproval, watching as his “friend” made his grand entrance. Sunset-red and white robes bellowing as he strode past their tables with the gait of a man who clearly believed that he had the world at the palm of his hand.

Honestly, he wasn’t even surprised when the elder didn’t bother with any sort of greeting. At least Wei Zhangmen had some sense. 

What did surprise him was Wen Ruohan casually stopping in front of Wei Fàngrèn’s table, stooping down and placing his mouth close to the -now frozen- sect leader’s ear, whispering something as if they were old friends sharing a secret.

Straining his senses, Nie Cídǐng managed to hear that one sentence:

“You’ve certainly learned to be a lot more cunning this time around, Yiling Lazou.”

End.

Author's Note:

1. 慈鼎 or "Cí dǐng": 'kind stability'. (I could not for the life of me find NMJ's father's name in the MDZS wiki. I needed help here.)

2. 瑞奇 or "Ruiqi": Rui- auspicious/lucky. Qi- remarkable/ extraordinary.

3. 放任 or "Fàngrèn" (WWX's new courtesy name): Could translate to 'letting things happen without restrain' or the equivalent of letting things go.

4. Zongzhu: Address for a clan leader.

5. Zhangmen: Address for a sect leader.

This is all just an experimental chapter. I'll let ya'll imagine what happens next. Maybe I'll come back to this, maybe I won't. Really does depend where my muse takes me.

Hope you enjoyed the read.

Many Thanks~

[lilac-loserr]

K you know what I want to know about MDZS? You know what I’m still upset about? That it was never followed up with that Madam Yu and Wen Zhuliu knew each other when they met at Lotus Pier! There’s just a moment of “Wen Zhuliu? Didn’t your name used to be Zhao?” And then “Violet Spider??” (I don’t know if this is the exact dialogue, I’m just writing it how I remember.) And it’s really obvious that they have some kind of history with each other, and it SEEMS like that’s going to get explored, and then nope! They’re both dead now so you’ll never find out!

That could have been such an interesting thing to explore! Both of them were super interesting characters! And it seemed like it was going to turn into something! What was up with that? Why was it never followed up with? Anyone got any headcanons?

[kibutsujidemon]

"(lan sizhui & wen yuan or lan yuan) x jin ling"

art by jack_mado.

[vozaho]

Sé que Wen RuoHan estaba bien maniacote, pero ese we fue de los pocos que no era un clasista de mierda con Meng Yao, -además de que le daba ciertos tratos especiales, ojo ahí-.