#when the actual story is about wangxian solving murder mysteries and clearing wwx's name?

[mxtxfanatic]

Jiang Cheng is never directly depicted onscreen hunting down demonic cultivators because he is not, in fact, hunting down demonic cultivators. Lan Jingyi is actually the one who posits that Jiang Cheng hunts down cultivators who attempt to mimic Wei Wuxian's cultivation:

Only upon seeing that Hanguang Jun had no intention of punishing him did [Lan Jingyi] dare to continue muttering. “It’s all the Yiling Laozu’s fault for stirring up trouble. So many people are copying him instead of learning cultivation properly. Not to mention, Chief Jiang suspects everything that moves. If he tries to catch everyone, when will he ever be done?

—Chapt. 11: Elegance I, fanyiyi

But Jiang Cheng, himself—along with countless other characters—verify that his goal is actually to hunt down a potentially resurrected Wei Wuxian:

After Lan Jingyi’s shout, Jiang Cheng, a man who cherished reputation and prestige as much as life, was able to act no longer. But if this man wasn’t Wei Wuxian, who could he be? Who else had the ability to summon Wen Ning?!

...

Only moments before, Jiang Cheng had been so certain this person was Wei Wuxian that all the blood in his body had gone cold and then boiled over in rage. But now, his Zidian told him loudly and clearly that he wasn’t. Zidian couldn’t possibly lie to him, and even less could it make an error. The Clan Chief rapidly calmed himself, and silently thought: It isn’t as though I can’t deal with this. Worst comes to worst, I’ll find some excuse to bring him back to Yunmeng, and then use every method I can to beat the truth out. There’s no need to worry about failing to get anything from him. He can hardly keep everything hidden. It’s not as though I haven’t done this type of thing before. Once he had made up his mind, he made a hand signal. His disciples understood and started to surround Wei Wuxian.

—Chapt: 10: Pride V, fanyiyi

He also harasses anyone with the Wen surname despite the QishanWen Clan already being wiped out:

The owner, “No, no. It was his misfortune. The person’s surname was Wen, and that Sect Leader Jiang’s archenemy happened to have the surname of Wen as well. He’s hating on everyone in this world whose surname is Wen. Whenever he sees one, he’d grind his teeth in hatred, wanting to skin them alive. How could he give a single friendly look to...”

—Chapt. 92: Longing, exr

But even though he never tortures other cultivators onscreen, he does torture Wei Wuxian onscreen:

Jiang Cheng’s answering smile was brimming with fury. “Fine. Then let’s see which of us truly hasn’t shown an ounce of improvement.” He sat motionless by the table and let out a shout. The spirit dog immediately stood up. Wei Wuxian’s entire body had already become covered in a layer of cold sweat from sharing a room with the animal. He eyed the dog, who was more than half a man’s height, with fangs protruding from its mouth. His ears filled with the dog’s low growl, and every part of him, from his toes to the top of his head, went numb. His memory of his period of childhood homelessness was blurry, but if he remembered anything, it was the panicked terror of being chased down the street, and the unbearable agony of sharp teeth and claws digging into his flesh. The fear ran deep in his heart, buried inside like thick roots in soil—no matter how much he tried, he could not soothe or overcome it. Suddenly, Jiang Cheng looked at him askance. “Who are you shouting for?” All the parts of Wei Wuxian’s soul were in complete and utter disarray. He couldn't recall whether he had called out anyone's name at all, and only after Jiang Cheng called off the dog was he able to force his spirit to settle back down inside its mortal shell. Momentarily dazed, he jerked his head violently away.

—Chapt. 24: Malice II, fanyiyi

So yeah you're right: gotta stop listening to secondhand accounts from the juniors and start paying attention to the things Jiang Cheng says, thinks, and does himself.

Jiang Cheng is never directly depicted onscreen hunting down and torturing any demonic cultivators. All descriptions of him doing so are rumors and/or secondhand accounts.

[wangxianficrecs]

Pearls For a Funeral by ElDiablito_SF

Pearls For a Funeral

by ElDiablito_SF

E, 31k, wangxian

Summary:  Private investigator Wei Wuxian finds himself in a pickle when a family of rich socialites hires him to clear Lan Wangji's name after his new husband, Jin Guangshan, is found murdered during their honeymoon. Making Wei Wuxian's life more complicated is the fact that his former partner, Jiang Cheng, is the lead detective on the case. Not helping matters is the fact that it's not entirely clear that Lan Wangji did not, in fact, kill his husband. Peril is behind every corner and time is running out for our gumshoe to solve the case, save his beautiful client from death row, all while butting heads with the people closest to him.

My comments:  Oh, I had so much fun with this. I love wwx being the sassy private dick who excels at poking his nose in, and lwj dripping pearls and Chanel and mystery, lqr angry and protective of his boys, nmj dejectedly stepping back, lxc being handsome and fluff-brained, jc snarling at the bit like always. Reads like a film, so it was easy to visualize as a Hollywood Noir while reading; and after setting the scene, the story moved very fast.

Excerpt 1:  “Sir, I cannot interfere with an active police investigation.”

“Cockamamie!” Lan Qiren’s fist landed on the side table near his arm chair with a loud crack. “The police are investigating Wangji, I need you to investigate the actual killer.” Wei Wuxian inclined his head while the Admiral pulled something from the side table which Wei Wuxian quickly recognized for a checkbook. “You find the real killer, Mr. Wei, and you get that former partner of yours off my nephew’s ass,” he said as he wrote in his checkbook, avoiding Wei Wuxian’s eyes. “This is your retainer fee. We will spare no expense. It is imperative that Detective Jiang find himself a new suspect.”

Excerpt 2:  "Anyways…" Wei Wuxian could hear the long inhale of Jiang Cheng's cigarette across the phone line. "So this goon, Su Minshan, also went by Su She. Has a rap sheet a mile long for racketeering and other petty crimes. No known associates in the system that I can find so far. I'll keep digging, something's gotta shake out eventually."

"No connections to the Lans?" Wei Wuxian asked carefully.

"Worried about your boyfriend, are you?"

"Fuck off."

"A fish like Lan Wangji is a little big for your hook, ain't he?"

"It's not the size of the hook that matters, Jiang Cheng, it's how you wiggle it."

"You're such a fucking idiot, I swear."

Excerpt 3:  “As far as I recall. He wasn’t particularly memorable. Just a hanger-on. The Jins have so many, an entire army of sycophants and bootlickers. That creep who drove off a cliff? Seymour Yao? When Jin Guangshan was alive, you couldn’t have extricated that man’s head out of his ass.” [MianMian]

“Thanks for the titillating visual,” Wei Wuxian grimaced. “But this is very helpful, MianMian, you’re a treasure.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Wen Qing said, walking back up to them with a little tray of steaming tea cups. “By the way, Wei Wuxian, can Lan Wangji buy you a new tea kettle, or what? Yours is an embarrassment.”

“I’m not his kept man!”

“Actually, you are.”

“Actually, XianXian is his Uncle’s kept man,” MianMian added with a complacent grin.

“You’re both terrible and I can’t believe you have keys to my house. I’m under a sapphic assault.”

“I’ll get you the address for the Sapphic Complaint Department right away,” Wen Qing said with her usual deadpan delivery. Wei Wuxian adored his asshole friends.

noir au, case fic, 1940s san francisco, mystery, intrigue, private detective wei wuxian, rich socialite lan wangji, gumshoe wei wuxian, widower lan wangji, hurt wei wuxian, hurt/comfort, pining, humor, entertaining dialogue, getting together, falling in love, smut, sass gremlin wei wuxian, sass gremlin in a more subtle way lan wangji, mild wei wuxian whump, @jadedbirch​

(You may wish to REBLOG as a signal boost for this author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)​