Chapter Text
The only thing stopping Wei Wuxian from snatching Chenqing from the bedside table was his tied hands. He would have managed it anyway, but this slowed him down for those fractions of a moment during which he managed to get his bearings and hide behind Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan drew his sword, and in its bluish light, Wei Wuxian finally recognised the intruder.
“Jiang Cheng?!” he blurted out, backing away. Frantic thoughts flashed through his head: Jiang Cheng was now in the Jins’ pocket? Or did he decide to take revenge for the frozen aid? Or did he decide that Wei Wuxian ruined the wedding with his presence?!
“Wei Wuxian!” Sect Leader Jiang began angrily, but was distracted by Bichen pointed at his face. “Damn it, doesn’t he leave your side at all?!”
Wei Wuxian, with his hands tied, couldn’t put on his hanfu, but at least pulled on his pants, and then opened the door to the common room, where the Lan cousins were still determining the watch shifts.
“Attack!!!” he yelled, falling out into the brightly lit hall. The cultivators immediately jumped up and grabbed their weapons, surrounding Wei Wuxian in a bristling ring with blades outward.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lan Xichen asked in a murderous tone as he entered the bedroom with Shuoyue bared. “Sect Leader Jiang?!”
But Jiang Cheng ignored him.
“Wei Wuxian, what the hell?! Why did you alert them?! You idiot, you and I could take out Lan Wangji!”
Something finally clicked in Wei Wuxian's mind.
“Did you break in to save me from the Lans?!” He was amazed. “Are you completely out of your mind?!”
“You’re the one out of your mind!” Jiang Cheng yelled back, not paying any attention to the swords pointed at him. “They escort you everywhere, there are even two guards at the door! I asked the servants, they said you were lying here tied up! What the hell, Lan Xichen?! If I showed disrespect to your precious infallible brother, does that mean you can treat Wei Wuxian any way you want?! If the marriage alliance isn’t desirable anymore, then let’s end this farce and I’ll take Wei Wuxian back! You have no right to keep him locked up!”
“Sect Leader Jiang, I didn’t suspend aid under our agreement because you insulted Wangji,” Xichen said coldly while Wei Wuxian picked up his jaw. “I thought I expressed myself quite clearly in my letter. You behaved inappropriately towards Wuxian. And so far I don’t see any repentance, and therefore Wuxian will definitely not return to Lotus Pier.”
Jiang Cheng stared at Sect Leader Lan in shock.
“I’ve lived with Wei Wuxian all my life and I know perfectly well how it’s acceptable and unacceptable to behave! You simply want to keep him and not pay me! How shrewd of the Lan sect!”
As he spoke, Jiang Cheng began to make faces, hinting to Wei Wuxian to run away while they bickered. Wei Wuxian sighed. It was touching, although he definitely had no intention of escaping, especially to Lotus Pier. But, taking advantage of the moment, he untied the ribbon and wound it all around one wrist.
“Jiang Cheng, calm down, no one is keeping me under lock and key. I'm really fine.”
“Fine?! Is it normal that you haven’t written a single letter to me since the fall?”
Wei Wuxian shrugged.
“You didn’t write me a single letter either, and considering how we parted, I didn’t think that you wanted to communicate with me very much.”
Jiang Cheng scowled.
“Who says that I want to communicate with you?! You’re a disciple of my sect and should be in touch! You didn’t even bother to solicit renewal of my funding!”
“What was I supposed to do, forge your apology letter?” Wei Wuxian asked, but at the same time Lan Xichen said:
“Wei Wuxian is no longer a member of your sect. He belongs to Gusu Lan and doesn’t report to you.”
“Wei Wuxian knows whose disciple he is,” Jiang Cheng snapped. “He sealed this alliance for the sake of the Jiang Sect, but I’m not seeing any benefit. Or do you think I released him from Lotus Pier so that he could let the good times roll?!”
Wei Wuxian clenched his teeth. Well, yes, it was touching. Or it would be if Jiang Cheng was anxious or worried. For many years, Wei Wuxian tried his best to see some deeper, warmer feelings behind Jiang Cheng’s angry grimace. But now that he knew what it was like to be truly appreciated, he could no longer discern anything there.
“As far as I remember,” Lan Xichen said coldly, “you let him come to us for treatment. But be that as it may, the marriage alliance was sealed according to all the protocols, and it was you who broke them.”
“In that case, I’m terminating the marriage alliance and taking Wei Wuxian back!” Jiang Cheng barked.
Wei Wuxian felt cold. Could Jiang Cheng do such a thing? And didn’t he understand that Wei Wuxian didn’t want to go back? Or he understood all right and just didn’t care? Could he have in fact given him to the Lans as punishment?
“The marriage is sealed,” Lan Zhan said. “It cannot be terminated by Sect Leader Jiang’s decision.”
“But it can be by Wei Wuxian’s decision! Come on, tell them what you think of them already, and let's end this farce!”
Wei Wuxian froze. He felt guilty for not supporting his former almost-brother in difficult times, but it was also for the sake of Jiang Cheng and his sect that he had agreed to this marriage. Not to mention his biggest sacrifice in the name of Yunmeng Jiang. How much more did he have to give? Wasn't he now bound by obligations to Gusu Lan? They might not have picked him up off the street, but was all that trust and respect he first experienced in Cloud Recesses worth less than his debt to the Jiangs? And didn't he pay it with interest? Jiang Cheng blamed him for Wen Chao's attack on Lotus Pier, but hadn't Cloud Recesses already burned down by then? Hadn’t the Unclean Realm surrendered? And Yunmeng Jiang was the smallest of the great sects, Wen Ruohan could have snapped them up in one bite...
“Wei Ying?”
Lan Zhan turned around and touched his hand. Lan Zhan, who loved him so much that he was willing to learn the Dark Path. The Lans needed Wei Wuxian as a family member and as a collaborator in the sect, and in return he received love, status, and power. And why did Jiang Cheng need him? And what would he get in return? No matter how hard Wei Wuxian tried, he couldn’t come up with anything good. And he had already paid off his debts.
“I won’t end the marriage,” Wei Wuxian said, looking into Jiang Cheng’s eyes.
He spat a curse.
“How did they intimidate you?”
“What's going on?!”
Two figures appeared in the open door behind Jiang Cheng: Shijie and Peacock. Wei Wuxian growled. It was their wedding, they were supposed to be having their wedding night now! What idiot disturbed them for the sake of Jiang Cheng’s troubles?! Then, Jin Guangyao's cap flashing in the background answered this question.
“A-Xian, they won’t let you go?!” Shijie moved to Jiang Cheng and stood next to him, face to face with Lan Zhan. The remnants of the wedding jewellery still stuck out of her hair, but she was already dressed in a casual Jin hanfu, which looked like it belonged to the peacock. “Here in Koi Tower you have nothing to fear, Zixuan will call the guards, and the Lans won’t be able to do anything!”
“No need to call the guards!” Wei Wuxian was horrified. “I don’t need to be saved at all, I’m doing great in Gusu Lan!”
“You’re doing great!” Jiang Cheng scoffed. “Do you even think about your sect?! I have to rescue you here in the middle of the night, you ruined my sister’s wedding night, do you even have a conscience?!”
Wei Wuxian almost choked at the injustice of the accusations. He had managed to get out of the habit of communicating with Jiang Cheng, and it seemed that during the time they didn’t see each other, he had tilted towards Madam Yu’s style.
“Sect Leader Jiang, it was you who burst into Wuxian’s bedroom and caused a scandal,” Lan Xichen noted. “And it’s time for me to call the guards of Koi Tower to remove you .”
“Of course you want to remove me!” Jiang Cheng roared. “But I won’t leave without my disciple! And the Jins will support me!”
Wei Wuxian began to simmer. He stood still in his pants in the middle of the crowd of Lans, and on the other side of the door the spectators kept arriving.
“I'm not going anywhere with you!” he said. “Leave me alone! You yourself sold me to Gusu Lan, just like you sold your sister to Lanling Jin. You don’t want her back, do you?!”
“She isn’t taken away under guard and tied up for the night!” Jiang Cheng retorted. “If you want me to believe that you aren’t being kept under lock and key, come out of there and talk to me alone!”
Wei Wuxian assessed the situation. The crowd of Jins and other cultivators behind Jiang Cheng was growing. Where could they go to be alone? And even if they found a place... Wei Wuxian would be completely defenceless.
“I’m not going anywhere without Lan Zhan,” he said firmly.
“Sect Leader Jiang, Wei Wuxian is surrounded by guards for his own safety,” Lan Xichen explained, fairly tired of this skirmish. “And he will not go anywhere alone with you, since you clearly demonstrated in the last meeting that you don’t care about his well-being and pose a threat to him.”
“Me?!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed. “Wei Wuxian, what is he talking about?! You will come with me now and explain everything!”
“Is A-Xian in danger?” Shijie interrupted.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Wei Wuxian snapped. “I’m not in shape and I won’t be able to stand up for myself if anything happens. Let's put off this conversation until I get better.”
Whispers spread through the crowd outside the door.
“I don’t understand,” Jiang Cheng began quietly and threateningly. “Do you not trust me ?”
Wei Wuxian froze, realising that this must be the case. He felt completely safe next to Lan Zhan: he would never offend him and wouldn’t let anyone else. But Jiang Cheng…? It was Wei Wuxian who always had to adjust and dodge, and even cover Jiang Cheng with his own body.
“No,” he said quietly but firmly.
“A-Xian!” Shijie gasped. “A-Cheng! I told you that you shouldn’t have agreed to a marriage alliance! Look what you've done! How could you just take him and sell him to another sect?!”
Jiang Cheng, who had been gasping for air for a couple of moments, snapped at her.
“What have I done?! He lives there with everything provided for him, kicks shit all day long, and I don’t see a single copper from this transaction, and that’s called a sale?! You didn't even give A-jie anything!”
“A-Cheng!” Madam Yu’s metallic intonations suddenly appeared in Shijie’s voice, and the peacock stared at her with an oily gaze, which made Wei Wuxian feel unwell. “A-Xian sent me more money every month than the entire wedding cost you!”
“What?!” Jiang Cheng was dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you tell me?! We desperately need money! What, did you waste it all on red silk?!”
Shijie covered her face with her hand.
“Because you didn’t deserve it, that’s why! Sect Leader Lan clearly wrote to you: apologise! Did you think I didn't read your letters? A-Cheng, I can’t always look after you and beg everyone around you not to quarrel with you when you behave like this, and you sent A-Xian away yourself! And as soon as you were left alone, look what you did!” She gestured around the gathered crowd. “It's time to grow up!”
Jiang Cheng's scowl slowly but surely turned back to Wei Wuxian.
“So this is how grateful you are to your natal sect. Our father picked you up from the street, fed you, taught you, tolerated you , but as soon as the money ran out, you found yourself a richer home? Have you forgotten who you owe your position to? Forgotten what our family had to go through for you? Did you forget that my parents died because of you?! You belong to the Jiang Sect, and I decide where you should be and in what role!”
“Wei Ying is not to blame for the attack on Lotus Pier,” Lan Zhan interjected, but Wei Wuxian had already had enough. If Jiang Cheng refused to see anything other than his right to control Wei Wuxian's life, then Wei Wuxian saw no reason to care about him anymore.
“I don’t owe you anything,” he growled. “I gave my life, my strength and my freedom to the Jiang Sect! I died for you in the Burial Mounds, and then survived on carrion for three months to avenge your parents!”
“I died for you at Lotus Pier!” Jiang Cheng yelled back. “I distracted them from you when they grabbed me, have you forgotten already?!”
“And who did you help with that?! If they had grabbed me, I would have survived! Unlike you, I have friends I can rely on, although you tried so hard to prevent it that I almost became an outcast in the cultivation world!!!”
Wei Wuxian felt that his face was burning from screaming, and his eyes were clouded with moisture, but he could no longer stop.
“You would have lost your big, shiny golden core, and then the cultivation world would definitely have been closed to you!” Jiang Cheng yelled back.
“I lost it anyway!!!” Wei Wuxian yelled, not caring that now all of Koi Tower would know the details. Let them know. He was in no danger next to Lan Zhan, and he couldn’t let Jiang Cheng take him, even at such a cost. “I lost it anyway! I gave it to you, idiot, so you could revive your sect! There was no Baoshan-sanren! I gave you my core, cut it out of my body, because you couldn’t stay put at the inn in Yiling!!!”
There was a ringing silence. Everyone, even Lan Xichen, stared at Wei Wuxian's bare stomach and a small surgical scar. Only Lan Zhan didn’t seem surprised, but raised his arm in its wide sleeve, shielding Wei Wuxian’s body from prying eyes.
“You’re lying,” Jiang Cheng breathed.
Wei Wuxian smiled bitterly, amazed at himself: how could he have considered this man almost a brother for so many years? Wei Wuxian had seen how other families lived, how the people in them treated each other. Why did he believe that everyone else was entitled to love and respect by birthright, but not him?
“Do you think I would lie to you about something like that? And you’re surprised that I don’t trust you.”
“There was a woman there!” Jiang Cheng blurted out defensively. “It couldn't have been you! You weren't even with me!”
“It was Wen Qing, and I came up later,” Wei Wuxian shook his head. Due to exhaustion, the anger passed quickly, leaving emptiness in its wake. “When you'd already passed out from the sedative.”
The shock on Jiang Cheng's face gradually changed to a furious scowl.
“Then why did you put on such a performance?! You could have admitted it right away! Why, you could have pulled it all off without me even knowing! You are a great master of doing good out of spite and on the sly!”
“A-Cheng!” Shijie shouted. Her face was flooded with tears.
“I didn’t want you to think that you owed me anything,” Wei Wuxian replied. “I was afraid that if you found out, it would build an insurmountable wall between us. That you’d lack confidence in yourself as the Sect Leader. But the wall has already grown, and I no longer have anything to do with your sect.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Jiang Cheng squeezed out, and Zidian trembled and sparkled in his hand. “Because of you, my parents died! You’ve paid for your mistakes!”
“It’s not Wei Ying’s fault,” Lan Zhan began, but Wei Wuxian put his hand on his elbow.
“Jiang Cheng, to avenge them, I created a weapon that I could barely control. And to protect you, I didn’t destroy it when it became a threat to me. For your sake, I allowed it to be destroyed when I wasn’t ready for it. For your sake, I agreed to a marriage alliance, although I was sure that it would mean captivity, if not execution. But, you know what, in captivity in a sect, whose principles I violate by my very existence, I was accepted into the family, and for the first time I learned what it’s like when someone stands up for me! Now you want me to leave the people who rely on me and return my kindness to wipe your snot again? Amazingly, I don't come running!”
“A-Xian,” Shijie sobbed. “So, now you don’t have a core? And without your seal... You can't be a cultivator anymore?”
“Don’t worry, shijie,” Wei Wuxian waved her off. “I’m already growing a new one, but until it’s ready, I have to rely on others to guard me.”
“So, it didn’t even cost you anything!” Jiang Cheng wheezed.
“Enough!” Lan Zhan growled.
“Sect Leader Jiang, I think Wuxian has answered all your questions.” Lan Xichen looked as if he was clinging to the Lan principles by his fingernails so as not to order Jiang Cheng carried out feet first. “Please leave his bedroom and do not disturb him again until you fulfil the conditions from my letter.”
Jiang Cheng turned to Jin Zixuan.
“They have no right...”
But the peacock recoiled from him in disgust.
“You!” Jiang Cheng shouted. “I gave you my sister! We’re allies now!”
“Ah, Sect Leader Jiang,” Jin Guangyao’s insinuating voice interjected. “We are all allies here. In case you forgot, Zewu-jun is my sworn brother. Do you really expect that the Jin Sect, at your behest, will start a conflict with the Lan Sect? Moreover, you’re the one disturbing the peace by distracting Older Brother on a night when he should only be thinking about his young wife. And all because you can’t decide whether you want to get rid of the disciple who gave you his golden core, or force him to work for you against his wishes... Really, Sect Leader Jiang, perhaps you shouldn’t have overdone it with the wine at the feast; after all, Lanling wines are quite strong.” He turned to Lan Xichen. “Second Brother, on behalf of the Jin Sect, I apologise for allowing this situation to happen. We’ll make sure that Sect Leader Jiang doesn’t disturb you again tonight.”
Jiang Cheng tried to object, but Shijie grabbed his sleeve in a vice-like grip and pulled him away.
“Go to sleep, A-Cheng. We'll talk again tomorrow.”
And it sounded so much like Madam Yu that Wei Wuxian wanted to hide behind his husband.
“Good night,” Jin Zixuan awkwardly squeezed out and waved for the other Jins to disperse.
Lan Xichen waited until everyone had moved away and ordered the guards to bring in those whom Jiang Cheng had knocked out to enter the bedroom. They were immediately infused with qi, and soon they began to move.
“With my own core...” Wei Wuxian shook his head.
“This is true?” Lan Xichen looked at him seriously when the doors were securely closed and covered with talismans.
Wei Wuxian shuddered at the question: did the Sect Leader really not believe him?
“It’s true,” Lan Zhan answered for him. “Sect Leader Jiang could have guessed it if he had troubled himself to.”
“You knew, right?” Wei Wuxian asked quietly. Lan Zhan nodded.
“How is this even possible?” Lan Xichen continued. “Our library contains a large collection of works on golden cores, but I’ve never seen any mention that a core can be given to someone else.”
“That was Wen Qing’s invention,” Wei Wuxian sighed. Now that the rage had subsided, he felt guilty again. He wanted to protect Jiang Cheng, but in the end he threw everything in his face... But he couldn’t let Jiang Cheng tear him out of his new family, using his duty to the sect as leverage. He couldn't leave Lan Zhan. And Lan Xichen with his accounting abilities. And the children, his students, not to mention the rest of the disciples, who had no one to talk to but him. Jiang Cheng wouldn’t be happier if Wei Wuxian returned. He just wanted to take back what he considered his.
“I heard about a healer from the Wen clan,” Lan Xichen said and shook his head. “It’s sad that such talent was lost due to Wen Ruohan’s greed.”
“What do you mean lost?” Wei Wuxian perked up. “What happened to her?!”
“I don’t know,” Xichen frowned. “But I didn’t hear about her after the war. If she lived in Nightless City...”
“I don’t know where she normally lived, but right before the war, she was sent to head the supervisory office in Yiling.” Wei Wuxian thoughtfully scratched the scar on his stomach, and Lan Zhan, coming to his senses, threw a hanfu over his shoulders. “So either she’s still there, or she’s returned to her family. Her branch of the clan didn’t participate in the war at all.”
A strange expression appeared on Lan Xichen’s face: it seemed as if he remembered something, either important or unpleasant.
“I need to talk to A-Yao about something,” he muttered and slipped out of the room.
Wei Wuxian backed away and sat on the bed, not thinking at all. He had told the whole world about his core, completely split with Jiang Cheng, and now it was unclear what was going on with the Wens...
“Wei Ying, go to bed,” Lan Zhan advised, but Wei Wuxian’s thoughts were racing like rabbits; how could he sleep?
“It seems to me that tonight isn’t over yet,” he muttered, wrapping his hanfu around himself more tightly. “Wen Qing wasn’t killed, was she? I would have heard, right?”
Although it wasn’t very clear how he would have heard. He wasn’t interested in the fate of her family after the war. First, he drank his soul away in Lotus Pier, and then everything went arse over tea kettle with the marriage...
“Brother will find out,” Lan Zhan said.
Something clicked in Wei Wuxian’s head.
“He went to find out from the Jins, right? Did they do something to the Wens?”
“I don’t know,” Lan Zhan shook his head. “But Brother will find out.”
Wei Wuxian shivered and began to get dressed. He didn’t trust the Jins and, as it turned out, he was right: Lan Xichen soon knocked on the bedroom door again.
“Wuxian... It’s good that you haven’t gone to bed yet,” he began, and from his anxious look, Wei Wuxian realised that he’d have to act quickly. “A-Yao had told me about this, but I hadn’t been listening... Jin Zixun, on the occasion of his cousin’s wedding, organised an archery competition, and wants to use the captive Wen cultivators as targets. But there are very few of them, most have already been killed, and therefore he was going to just bring everyone with the surname Wen to Lanling, even civilians...”
“Where?!” Wei Wuxian blurted out. “Where do I fly?”
“As I understand it, a squad just went to Qishan today to pick up prisoners. It's not far from Yiling.”
Wei Wuxian, without saying anything, put his flute in his belt and picked up his sword.
“Wei Ying, you should stay,” Lan Zhan began.
“I owe them my life. Twice,” Wei Wuxian snapped.
Lan Zhan took a short breath and nodded.
“Be careful.”
With these words, he unsheathed Bichen and handed Wei Wuxian his warm cloak.
“What about the other sects, are they fine with shooting at civilians?” Wei Wuxian asked nervously as they walked towards the stairs, because they could only take off from the bottom.
“I don’t think anyone else knows the details,” Lan Xichen explained. “I didn’t understand it myself at first, A-Yao spoke in hints, he can’t afford to openly undermine the Jin clan. I asked him to notify Mingjue, but it's already past bedtime...”
“It’s not past bedtime for the Nie,” Wei Wuxian snorted. “But they’re probably all drunk.”
Lan Xichen remained silent, but Wei Wuxian knew from his pursed lips that he was right. Fortunately, two dozen more disciples were waiting for them in the city, who happily joined the rescue mission.
***
The flight away from Lanling wasn’t nearly as relaxing as toward it. Wei Wuxian, of course, was no longer able to fall asleep, but instead squinted through the wind and slushy snow drizzle. It seemed to him that they were barely crawling through the air, although he knew perfectly well how fast the Lans flew, and until now it completely suited him.
They reached Yiling at dawn. Wei Wuxian didn’t even have time to pick out the Burial Mounds from the outline of the surrounding mountains when light Jin clothes began to sparkle below his feet. The rays of the morning sun illuminated the gold embroidery, giving the whole event a blessed look. In fact, the illustrious cultivators were pulling reluctant people out of their houses, lining them up in single file and tying them up. Wei Wuxian saw several children, including some so small that they wouldn’t make it far on their own. But it was impossible to discern acquaintances in the dark mass of people — the Wens, it seemed, had lost their sect uniforms after the war.
Lan Zhan dived almost vertically, and Wei Wuxian saw the soles of other Lans, who descended more gently, in spirals. They landed right in front of the head of the line of people, and Wei Wuxian immediately recognised Wen Ning. He stood with his head bowed, tied more carefully than the others, with a bruise on his face.
“Wen Ning!” Wei Wuxian blurted out, not knowing what to say next.
The young man shuddered and looked up, and a smile immediately lit up his face.
“Young Master Wei! You…” he fell silent, looking around at the Lans.
By that time, Xichen had also landed and glanced at some high-ranking Jin.
“What's going on here?” He asked in a cold tone that imitated Lan Zhan so well that Wei Wuxian almost laughed.
The nearby Jins froze, staring at the Lans. Finally, the one the Sect Leader was addressing stepped forward.
“I need to ask you this, masters Lan. We were minding our own business here, so who invited you?”
“This territory doesn’t belong to the Jin Sect,” Lan Xichen noted. “Any cultivator has the right to come here at any time.”
“So we came, because it doesn’t belong to the Lan Sect either!” the leader grinned. There was something vile about him, just like Jin Zixun. Surely a relative.
“Who told you to capture civilians?” Wei Wuxian interrupted, unable to stay away.
The Jin glanced at him and turned back to Xichen. He didn’t recognise me, Wei Wuxian realised. Then again, yesterday he barely recognised himself in the mirror.
“I agree with Master Wei Wuxian’s question,” said Lan Xichen, who also noticed the lack of reaction.
The Jin immediately glanced nervously at Wei Wuxian and scowled.
“You brought a prisoner without asking anyone, so why do we have to explain ourselves?”
Wei Wuxian frowned, not immediately understanding who the Jin was talking about.
“Wuxian is not a prisoner,” replied Zewu-jun.
“Oh, please, the whole world already knows you locked him up,” the Jin snorted. “Or is he your watchdog now?”
Wei Wuxian was instantly tired of this conversation. If he could, he would have already pulled out Chenqing and showed everyone present how much of a prisoner he was, but he couldn’t, and words would hardly have convinced anyone.
“Whether I’m a prisoner or not, I took part in the war, and I’m held accountable to martial law. But you here are oppressing civilians. I ask again, who gave you the right to capture them?”
“How civilian are they when they’re Wens?” The Jin scoffed.
Wei Wuxian also scoffed.
“There are only a hundred surnames, but there are so many people in the Celestial Empire, so what if someone’s called Wen? I know these guys personally, they didn’t take part in the war, and who would know if not me; I looked through the eyes of every dead man who had a grudge against the Wens.”
The Jin turned pale and retreated half a step.
“They are relatives of Wen Ruohan himself!” he didn’t give up.
“How can you prove it?” Wei Wuxian retorted.
“Why on earth do I have to prove anything to you, corpse desecrator?!” The Jin bellowed, shaking his fist, but ran into Lan Zhan’s murderous gaze, infernally illuminated by the bluish glow of Bichen, which he hadn’t sheathed.
“I’ll ask you to remain within the bounds of decency when talking to the young master of the Lan clan,” Lan Xichen said calmly. “The war is over. If these people are guilty of any crimes, it must be proven and they must be judged. Arbitrary punishment by individual sects is unacceptable. Release them immediately.”
The Jin gritted his teeth, but he didn’t really have a choice — he couldn’t fight the Lans, especially considering that most of the Jin guards, who had given up dragging people and crowded behind their commander, could hardly be called cultivators at all. They didn’t even carry spiritual weapons. Wei Wuxian couldn’t stay idle anymore and, pulling a small knife from his boot (thanks to the nomadic shoemaker, who provided a pocket), stepped forward to cut the ropes on Wen Ning. Lan Zhan squeezed himself between him and the Jins, glaring at anyone who dared to even glance at Wei Wuxian. Wen Ning began to thank him, barely getting the words out through his stutter, but Wei Wuxian just waved him off.
The Lan disciples also drew knives and swords and began to free the Wens, at the same time carefully surrounding them in a protective ring. Wei Wuxian was once again glad that not ten, but more than thirty people had come with him to Lanling, and although there were about twice as many Wens, the Jins still wouldn’t be able to get past if they decided to try some kind of mischief.
But how to transport them? Wei Wuxian definitely didn’t intend to leave the Wens here, a couple of mountains away from Yiling, where they would become fodder not just for the Jins, but for any other stray dog.
“We’ll take them to Gusu, right?” Wei Wuxian asked Lan Xichen.
“I don’t see why not. But, as I understand it, most people here aren’t cultivators? We need to think about how best to organise the move. It might be worth buying horses and carts in Yiling...”
The thought of cultivators suddenly reminded Wei Wuxian of something.
“Where is Wen Qing?”
“Haven’t you seen each other?” Wen Ning was surprised. Having received a puzzled look in response, he explained: “My sister went to look for Master Wei...”
“Where did she go? On foot?”
“Well, yes... To Lotus Pier... We didn’t know that you’re a Gusu disciple now.”
“How long has she been gone?” Luo Longwei interjected, looking around as if Wen Qing might be hiding between the houses.
“Since the Jins appeared,” answered a middle-aged man who was pushed towards them by the crowd. “I immediately told her: run and look for help. True, I didn’t think that she would find it, but she’s the most important of all of us. I thought, maybe we can talk our way out of it... And she’s a girl, after all, and these...” he glared unkindly at the Jins.
“Young master, should I fly after her?” Luo Longwei suggested.
Wei Wuxian nodded, but immediately caught himself.
“Wait, she won’t trust you. I should write her a note or something... You don’t know what she looks like!” Wei Wuxian slapped his forehead. “Who knows how many women there are on the road… Listen, you can carry two, right?”
Disciple Luo looked him over from head to toe.
“Only if they’re small...”
Wei Wuxian spun around where he stood at the edge of the crowd and spotted a petite girl.
“Lady! Would you be so kind as to ride a sword with this gentleman and help him find Wen Qing?”
The girl meticulously examined Luo Longwei, who, from such attention, lost all his nerve and was somewhat embarrassed.
“Does Lady Qing really want this gentleman to find her?” the girl asked suspiciously.
“She wants me to find her because she went looking for me. Explain to her that Wei Wuxian is already here, and I don’t think she’ll be stubborn.”
The girl exchanged glances with a middle-aged man — perhaps her father — and, receiving a silent nod, offered her hand to Luo Longwei. They promptly went in search.
Wei Wuxian was thinking about transportation again, but then his foot got stuck in something. Looking down, he saw a child, a toddler, who grabbed his shin as if he was going to climb it.
“Who is this?” Wei Wuxian was charmed.
“A-Yuan!” an elderly woman pushed her way out of the crowd, unwinding pieces of rope from her wrists as she walked. Wei Wuxian noticed the deep red welts on her skin and gritted his teeth. “Don’t touch the masters!”
“It’s okay, granny,” Wei Wuxian assured, bending down to pick up the little one and take a closer look. “So you are A-Yuan?”
“My c-cousin on my mother’s side,” Wen Ning explained, smiling shyly. “He likes to grab people’s legs, sorry.”
Wei Wuxian laughed and brushed the hair that was stuck to A-Yuan’s cheeks away from his face. His cheeks were grimy and wet from recent tears. Wei Wuxian’s hands were itching to whip some Jin arses, but he couldn’t do anything himself.
“Lan Zhan,” he called, not knowing what he wanted.
Lan Zhan, as usual, was covering his back, not taking his eyes off the annoyed Jins crowding at a distance, but for the sake of the baby he looked away, put his hand into his sleeve and took out an osmanthus cake, which he often carried with him for Wei Wuxian.
“Ah, Lan Zhan, you’re so caring!” Wei Wuxian couldn’t hold back his emotional outburst. “A-Yuan, look, at first sight you won the heart of the most beautiful gege in the world!”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan suddenly agreed. “Wei Ying.”
And he smiled so warmly, looking at his husband with the child in his arms. Wei Wuxian’s chest ached from the sudden tenderness. Unable to bear this gaze, he looked again at the baby eating the pastry. Maybe he and Lan Zhan could get themselves a bun like this?
“Someone is approaching,” announced one of the disciples, not overwhelmed with adoration.
Wei Wuxian glanced at the sky. The sun had already risen above the horizon, and there were dark dots, like a swarm of insects, and light dots, like specks of dust in a sunbeam.
“More Jins?” he frowned. “Who are the dark ones?”
“Not visible yet,” Lan Zhan said.
Wei Wuxian glanced around. They still had no way to quickly escort the Wens. If the Jin Army and its minions came here now, it would become even more difficult. What to do? He wouldn’t have been able to organise a travel talisman for so many people even if he could use dark qi. The Lans would be able to carry half of the Wens on their swords. But something needed to be done immediately, something big... A ship, for example, the river wasn’t far away... The river... Oh!
“Lan Zhan, hold this,” Wei Wuxian said quickly, thrusting the child into his husband’s arms.
“What are you going to do?” Lan Zhan asked, wary.
“Nothing dangerous, I promise! Just calling someone; I need to concentrate.”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan pursed his lips, but picked up the baby, albeit a little clumsily. The granny began to protest again that she didn’t want to bother the young gentlemen, but in the end she only silently adjusted Lan Zhan’s grip.
“I won’t hurt myself, I promise,” Wei Wuxian whispered and plopped down right on the trampled dry grass under his feet in the lotus position. It was necessary to turn to his emerging core, because it was a gift from the dragon. Wei Wuxian concentrated all his awareness on his dantian and felt a thin thread of spiritual connection. Along it, he was mentally transported back to Gusu, rushed straight into the waters of the river skirting the Lan Mountain, and ascended to its source. The dragon was there, dozing on the shore, his tail dangling in the water. He understood everything without words.
Meanwhile, the dots on the horizon grew. Wei Wuxian stood up, absentmindedly brushing himself off, and took a closer look.
“It’s the Nies!” he cried out in delight. “The Nies with the Jins! And someone else, I can’t see past the others.”
“Yes, Mingjue is there,” Xichen nodded with visible relief. “Well, I hope it will be possible to avoid a conflict...”
“Brother,” Lan Zhan suddenly spoke unhappily. “There is already a conflict.”
“Yes, indeed,” Wei Wuxian joined in. “The Jins must answer for this injustice. Of course, most likely, they’ll say that these guys,” he nodded at the guards, “acted on their own initiative, but you still need to let them know that they won’t get away with this.”
Lan Xichen hesitated, clearly not happy with the prospect of quarrelling and demanding where usually he would smile and hush everything up, but if you pledge, don’t hedge, as they say...
In the face of the landing Jins, the small squad of guards perked up. The Lan disciples herded the Wens into a tighter circle, turning their backs to them to face a possible enemy. Among the Jins, surprisingly, was Jin Guangshan himself, and with him both his sons — or at least both known sons. Nie Mingjue landed a little further away, but in the same row, however, it was clear from his landing that the wine hadn’t worn off yet, and his face was redder than usual. Huaisang tried to grab him by the elbow, but was roughly pushed away.
“What's going on here?!” Jin Guangshan asked angrily.
“Lawlessness.” Wei Wuxian spread his hands. “Your subordinates, Sect Leader Jin, attacked civilians.”
“As I have repeatedly explained to Sect Leader Nie, these are not civilians!” Jin Guangshan snorted. “These are Wen Ruohan’s closest relatives!”
“Whoever’s relatives they are,” Wei Wuxian insisted, “they didn’t participate in the war. Most of the people here aren't even cultivators!”
“They didn’t participate, which means they didn’t fight for Wen Ruohan,” Sect Leader Nie interjected. “But they didn’t fight against him either. Why on earth should we protect them?”
“Dage!” Lan Xichen begged. “How could they resist Wen Ruohan? Face certain death?”
“Even so,” Sect Leader Nie shrugged. “What do we care about some Wens? I thought there was something important here since Meng Yao woke me up in the middle of the night.”
Jin Guangyao froze, and from his face Wei Wuxian realised that Nie Mingjue had let that slip, even though he was asked to hide the source of the information. Jin Guangshan turned sharply to his son.
“Why did you need to disturb Chifeng-zun’s peace?” he asked in a velvety voice that did not bode well.
“I... found out that Jin Zixun was plotting to abuse the civilian population of Qishan... Second Brother asked me to notify Elder Brother...”
“Why didn’t you notify me first?” Jin Guangshan asked in an even more dangerous tone.
“Why should he?” Wei Wuxian interrupted, realising that Guangyao couldn’t get out of this. “Or are you not aware of what is going on in your own sect? Didn't you authorise this raid?”
“What are you implying?!” Sect Leader Jin jumped up.
“I don’t need to imply!” Wei Wuxian spread his hands. “You immediately rushed to find out who was to blame for the disclosure, but you’re not interested in who sent the guards here in the first place? Or do you already know that?”
“Wei Wuxian, your impudence has crossed all boundaries!” Sect Leader Jin sputtered. “Naturally, I know that Zixun was going to bring the prisoners to the shooting competition.”
“Prisoners?” Lan Zhan interjected, stepping forward to stand level with Wei Wuxian. The grimy child was still sitting in his arms. “Are these prisoners?”
Sect Leader Nie frowned.
“Well, they wouldn’t capture such little ones...”
“I assure you, Mingjue,” Lan Xichen shook his head. “When we arrived here, the Jin guards were dragging every last baby out of their homes, and they were all tied up to be escorted to Lanling.”
“Zixun simply instructed his people poorly,” Jin Zixuan stood up for the family.
“Wow!” Wei Wuxian put his hands on his hips. He just needed to bide his time until Wen Qing and the dragon arrived. “The Jin Sect is in fine order; someone gave vague instructions, and a village could be completely slaughtered. I expected more responsibility from the Chief Cultivators's clan!”
“Indeed,” Nie Mingjue frowned even more. “What kind of a mess do you have in your sect, Jin Guangshan, that people can be sent under arrows by mistake?”
“A separate question,” Wei Wuxian picked up, “is the whole idea of shooting at people as entertainment.”
“Nobody was going to shoot at people!” Jin Guangshan said. “People were going to shoot at targets, and a good marksman shouldn’t hit anyone!”
“So, is everyone in Lanling a good marksman?” Sect Leader Nie chuckled. “I’ve never seen such prowess. I train mine half to death, and I’m still not sure that none of them would hit a person standing right under the target.”
“Well, don’t put losers in competitions!” Jin Guangshan scoffed.
“Or maybe it would be easier not to make living people targets?” Wei Wuxian continued to press his point. “What an example you set for other sects! Shouldn't the Chief Cultivator keep the peace in the Jianghu?”
“Wei Wuxian, you corpse desecrator, do you still dare to scold me?!” Sect Leader Jin exclaimed.
“I’ll ask you to show respect to the young master of the Lan clan,” Lan Xichen admonished with enviable sangfroid. “Wuxian’s methods weren’t the most humane, but we were at war, and without his contribution we wouldn’t have won. However, now it’s peacetime, and there are no more prisoners of war left in Lanling, otherwise what is all this for?” He waved his hand around the crowd of tense Wens. “I will stand by my brother-in-law: we didn’t choose the Jin Sect Leader as the Chief Cultivator so we would have to sneak out at night to correct his shortcomings and protect civilians from his whims.”
There was a shocked silence. Nie Mingjue slowly applauded.
“Xichen, you’re making progress! The company of that silver-tongued Wei Wuxian must be good for you. A-sang, did you hear that?”
Nie Huaisang nodded slightly and hid behind his fan, looking at Wei Wuxian with twinkly eyes. Lan Xichen himself looked frightened by his own courage, but it was too late to turn back.
“What do you think you’re doing, Sect Leader Lan?” Jin Guangshan came to his senses.
“I should be asking you that, Sect Leader Jin,” Wei Wuxian returned fire, deciding that there was no point in putting too much pressure on Lan Xichen; he had already exceeded all expectations. “The Chief Cultivator isn’t empowered by the mandate of heaven, it’s an elected position, and its holder is answerable to the sects that elected him. We have the right to express dissatisfaction with your decisions.”
“This matter has nothing to do with my position!” Sect Leader Jin finally roused. “We’re talking about organising my son’s wedding; this is an internal affair of the Jin clan!”
“However, you brought another clan from foreign territory into this,” Lan Xichen noted quietly.
Nie Mingjue opened his mouth to say something, but then Luo Longwei appeared with two maidens and dismounted a little awkwardly next to Wei Wuxian, trying to understand what was happening and where so many cultivators came from. Wen Qing bore a vague resemblance to a wet rat and stared hauntedly at the sect leaders.
“Look!” Jin Guangshan pointed an angry finger at Wen Qing. “Don’t talk to me about civilians! This woman is Wen Ruohan’s niece; we’ve all seen her with him more than once! She was his confidant!”
“But she didn’t participate in the war,” Wei Wuxian reminded them, starting to slowly panic. Where on earth was the dragon?! It was time to get out! “She’s actually a healer and doesn’t own any weapons!”
“Why didn’t she poison him, since she’s a healer?” Nie Mingjue snorted.
“Dage,” Lan Xichen hissed. “I didn’t expect such a low suggestion from you.”
“Low?!” Sect Leader Nie barked. “So you’d rather Wen Ruohan’s descendants live for centuries?!”
“If you want to kill me, I won’t resist,” Wen Qing interjected. “But don't touch my family! They’re my maternal relatives and have nothing to do with Wen Ruohan!”
Wei Wuxian immediately pushed her behind his back with his elbow, and Luo Longwei pressed in on the other side so that she wouldn’t come back out.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan called and, when he turned around, handed A-Yuan back to him. The child, who had been warming himself on the Second Jade’s broad chest, whimpered, but Lan Zhan needed his hands free in case he had to fight. Wei Wuxian mentally spurred the dragon; really, how long could it take to swim from Gusu?! What good were his promises?
“Noble,” Chifeng-zun chuckled. “It’s a pity you didn’t show this nobility during the war.”
“She showed it,” Jiang Cheng’s voice came from behind the Nie. Wei Wuxian shuddered and stared at where Sect Leader Jiang was making his way between the tall Nie. “I owe my life to Wen Qing and her brother. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have a golden core, and the Jiang Sect wouldn't have taken part in the Sunshot Campaign. Everyone fights as best they can.”
Wei Wuxian clearly saw how difficult it was for Jiang Cheng to say each word. How had Shijie brainwashed him? But Wei Wuxian’s heart was a little relieved, although now the guilt for his own harsh words began to feel heavier.”
“Sect Leader Jiang has been going all out lately,” Jin Guangshan noted. “First he breaks into people’s homes at night, then he protects war criminals...”
“Are you suggesting that I just forget about my life debt?!” Jiang Cheng snapped, getting agitated about having to repeat things that were already shameful.
“Wow, the Chief Cultivator is really pushing it!” Wei Wuxian jumped in, hoping to divert attention and give Jiang Cheng a break after a difficult confession.
“Well, since everyone is reminding me of my rank today,” Jin Guangshan spoke in a dangerous tone, “then perhaps I should remember it too. It’s the Chief Cultivator’s duty to judge other sects fairly. This is my judgement: these people are war criminals, and I declare everyone who sympathises with them to be accomplices! Guards! Arrest the Wen criminals! Anyone who interferes with the arrest will also be brought before the Chief Cultivator's court!”
Lan Zhan stepped forward, taking a fighting stance. Lan Xichen hesitated and also drew his sword, and the other Lans followed suit. Nie Mingjue was confused and froze, looking from him to Sect Leader Jin. Huaisang whispered something frantically in his ear, but it didn't seem to help. Jiang Cheng spat on the ground and stood next to Wei Wuxian, expressing with his whole appearance that he would rather stand near a dung heap.
“Couldn’t keep your mouth shut again?” he hissed. Wei Wuxian winced. Maybe Shijie didn’t wear him down enough...
The dragon took this moment to appear in all his glory. He swooped down from the sky, as bright as a flare of sunlight, sending out blinding flashes around him. He wrapped himself around the Wens and Lans and Jiang Cheng, surrounding them with a fortress wall, behind which the enemy wasn’t even visible. His shaggy head made a full rotation, sniffing everyone in the ring, and then lay down on the coil of his body next to Wei Wuxian, exhaling hot steam into the faces of those who hadn’t backed off.
“Fuck you, Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng bleated in a whisper, pressed by the huge bulk into Luo Longwei. “What is this?!”
“That thing that possessed me in Yunmeng,” Wei Wuxian answered and winked playfully. “Did I purify him well?”
Jiang Cheng swore in shock. Wen Qing muttered something about cruising and bruising behind his back, but Wei Wuxian may have misheard it. He grabbed the dragon's thick, rough whisker and pulled himself up to stand next to its muzzle. The baby in his arms also became interested in the locks of the dragon’s mane and reached for them, but the dragon endured.
“Do you think your guards can handle a deity?” He cheerfully shouted to Jin Guangshan, who rose from the wet ground, unsuccessfully trying to shake his gold-embroidered clothes clean. Qishan mud even stuck to fabrics stitched with anti-mud spells.
“You’ve lost your core,” Jin Zixuan blurted out. “How did you summon a deity?!”
“Oh, well, that’s ancient history,” Wei Wuxian waved him off. “Since I lost my core, I’ve invented a lot of things. Do you think I've confined myself to one new cultivation technique?”
Next to Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan appeared on Bichen, followed by Lan Xichen. The brothers looked at each other, clearly ending some argument. Lan Xichen appeared reluctant but resigned.
“Jin Guangshan just publicly threatened our sect with violence,” he said, straining his voice to be heard, although without fervour. “The Lan Sect no longer intends to respect his authority and demands that another Chief Cultivator be elected. Mingjue?” He said the last part almost pleadingly, and Lan Zhan pursed his lips.
“The Jiang Sect seconds!” Jiang Cheng stated, also flying up to hover over the dragon wall.
“Hmm, the Chief Cultivator let us down, of course,” Nie Mingjue drawled, looking at the huge silver barrier. “Does this creature really obey Wei Wuxian?”
“This is a river god,” Lan Xichen corrected him reproachfully. “He is the patron of Gusu Lan in general, and Wuxian is the priest of his temple.”
Nie Mingjue whistled.
“Wow! Xichen, are you sure he’s not applying for the position of sect leader? Look, he’s already thinned out your elders, now he wants to gather the Wens under his leadership...”
“Mingjue!” Lan Xichen sighed in frustration. “Wuxian acts in my interests. I was the one who became concerned about the fate of Maiden Wen when I learned that she was capable of performing a core transplant. However, if you believe that it’s better to turn a doctor with such skills into a target, although she did nothing to deserve it and even,” he waved his hand towards Jiang Cheng, “helped our side, then you can continue to support the Jins!”
“I wasn’t going to support them!” Nie Mingjue snapped.
“You are my sworn brother, but you weren’t sure whose side you were on when Jin Guangshan repudiated my sect,” Lan Xichen snapped. Wei Wuxian glanced at him. Wow, he hadn’t even noticed how offended Zewu-jun was.
“Naturally, I wouldn’t support him against you!” Nie Mingjue exclaimed. “I just don’t like these Wens, but if you want them, take them, it doesn’t matter to me either way!”
“Since when does Chifeng-zun make such decisions?” Jin Guangshan’s tenor sounded again. “Wei Wuxian deciding to use force against the Chief Cultivator doesn’t mean that I’ve resigned!”
“No, but if three of the four great sects don’t recognise your authority, then you’ll have to accept it,” Wei Wuxian smiled predatorily. “Perhaps it’s time to choose a new Chief Cultivator!”
“Mingjue,” Lan Xichen called again. “Maybe you’ll reconsider your decision?”
“Me?!” Sect Leader Nie was amazed. “I won’t get involved in the feuds of minor sects, my life is already short, and that kind of work would drive me to qi deviation in a day! No, excuse me, judge these squabbles yourself for all I care!”
Lan Xichen recoiled.
“I don't think that’s a good idea. I have enough worries in my own sect. Lanling Jin didn’t suffer as much from the war, and even then its leader failed to cope with two important positions. My situation is even more difficult.”
“Perhaps, in this case, we shouldn’t elect a sect leader as the Chief Cultivator?” came Jin Guangyao’s insinuating voice. Wei Wuxian was surprised that he’d been silent until then, but apparently he couldn’t decide who to support — his father or his sworn brother.
Jin Guangshan hissed at his son and swung his hand, but Guangyao quickly jumped back.
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” Nie Mingjue remarked. “The sect leaders already have things to do. But your Wei Wuxian seems to have plenty of time and sky-high ambitions. I may not agree with him about the Wens, but he put the Jins in their place quite rightly!”
“What are you talking about, Chifeng-zun, what ambitions do I have?” Wei Wuxian muttered, chuckling at Sect Leader Nie’s incredible proposal.
“Obviously quite a lot,” Jin Guangyao interjected. “Inventing not one, but two new cultivation methods and taming a deity — you must be an energetic and broad-minded person, not to mention leadership qualities...”
“Who are you sucking up to, you bitch?” Jin Guangshan roared. “I’ll destroy you for what you did here!”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan said. Wei Wuxian turned to him, surprised that he had something against Guangyao, but it turned out that the Lan brothers were communicating with their eyes again.
“Mingjue, I support your idea,” Lan Xichen said. “During his time working in the sect, Wuxian showed himself to be an excellent administrator, capable of taking initiative and independently solving difficult situations, unravelling conflicts and identifying rule breakers. I’m sure he’ll do just as well on a larger scale.”
“W-what?...” Wei Wuxian squeezed out. “Have you decided to get rid of me…?”
“Never,” Lan Zhan assured him with all the calmness of a battering ram. “Wei Ying is a member of our sect and clan.”
“This is ridiculous!” Jin Guangshan scoffed. “He's a dark cultivator! A whelp! The Lan Sect hopes to rise by forcing everyone to kowtow at their doorstep, but no one will support this!”
“I’ll support it,” Jiang Cheng said and glared vindictively at Wei Wuxian. “Let him work at least a little.”
“I’m being worked to death!” Wei Wuxian sputtered.
“The Nie Sect agrees,” Nie Mingjue announced.
There was some kind of brawl going on behind Jin Guangshan; it was hard to tell, but apparently it ended, because Jin Zixuan came forward, as if he had been pushed out.
“The Jin Sect agrees.”
“What?!” Jin Guangshan roared. “I am still the Sect Leader!!!”
“Father... um, can’t cope,” Jin Zixuan squeezed out and timidly looked over his shoulder. Shijie loomed there with her hands on her hips. “I’m taking command.”
“What are you talking about?!” Jin Guangshan yelled.
“Really, father,” Jin Guangyao spoke quietly, keeping at a safe distance, “you’d better hand over the sect leader’s chair in order to save the sect’s reputation, otherwise what you’ve done here may...”
“Shut up, you damned defector!!!” Jin Guangshan burst out. “I curse the day when I lost my mind enough to recognise you! Get out bag and baggage so that no memory of you lingers in Koi Tower!”
“Father, that isn’t your decision anymore...” Jin Zixuan began hesitantly.
“I don’t care! I know what you're trying to do!” Jin Guangshan turned to him. “My bitch of a wife will support you, but him,” he pointed a finger at Jin Guangyao, “she won’t stand up for him!” You might take the seat away from me, but I will destroy this creature, no matter what crevice he hides in, even if I don't have an ounce of authority!!!”
His face turned red from the effort. Jin Guangyao began sidling towards Nie Mingjue, but he resolutely stepped away. Zewu-jun frowned, but didn’t say anything: it seemed that his reserve of courage had been exhausted for the day.
“Well, if all four great sects are in agreement, then I’ll take upon myself the task of sending out a summary of today’s meeting to others and notifying them of Wei Wuxian’s appointment as Chief Cultivator,” he suggested.
Wei Wuxian would have grabbed his head, but he was holding onto the dragon's whiskers with one hand and the child with the other.
“What, did you bite off more than you could chew?” the dragon chuckled.
“But I... How...” Wei Wuxian muttered, not knowing whether he was answering the dragon or Zewu-jun.
“Wei Ying can handle it,” Lan Zhan promised and looked at the crowd with a warning glance.
“Will you help me?” Wei Wuxian whispered, wondering whether to run away with his husband to settle in the wilderness, cultivate fields, and raise A-Yuan.
“With everything I can,” Lan Zhan assured.
Wei Wuxian tried to picture it. Lan Zhan, of course, was very hardworking and conscientious, but the work of the Chief Cultivator required many other qualities... What could he delegate to his husband? Without being tormented by his conscience later, seeing how he’d suffer? Obviously not meetings, definitely not decisions — Lan Zhan would decide them into war. Letters…? Honestly, Wei Wuxian would prefer to delegate the purchase of trinkets and back massages to him, and not all this. No, he needed a more politically savvy assistant. Preferably, one who also understands the statutes of the different sects. Hmm...
“Zewu-jun, can I take an assistant?” he asked quietly.
“Of course,” he nodded eagerly. “Any disciple of the sect would be honoured... Or would you like someone from outside?”
“Well, I don’t think it will be difficult for you to convince Jin Guangyao to join Gusu Lan?” Wei Wuxian grinned.
Lan Xichen opened his eyes wide and froze for a moment, and then quickly turned to his sworn brother.
“A-Yao...”
“Yes, yes,” he responded quickly with a smile that didn’t suit a person who had just been thrown out of their sect.
Wei Wuxian squinted at his future assistant. For some reason he acted quiet today... Wasn’t he playing a long game, telling Nie Mingjue about Jin Zixun’s plan…?
A-Yuan suddenly kicked and whimpered, and Wei Wuxian realised that it was time to go home.
“Well, since we’ve resolved all the issues,” he began, clearing his throat, “then I think we can part ways. It’s been a tough two days for everyone. Sect Leader Nie, can I ask you to escort the Jin delegation back to Lanling so that there won’t be any problems there...?
Nie Mingjue chuckled and glanced at the raging Jin Guangshan and the stunned Jin Zixuan.
“You’re talking business! Okay, so be it, let's do it. Keep an eye on these turncoats!”
He nodded in the general direction of the Wens and Jin Guangyao, and then gave the command to his disciples to line up for flight. Nie Huaisang turned around and winked at Wei Wuxian over his shoulder. Oh, he’d gotten involved in a difficult game, Wei Wuxian realised. But that made it even more interesting, right? After all, it was almost routine for him to attempt the impossible in the realm of cultivation; he could take on something new!
When the Nies and Jins flew away, the dragon uncoiled and lay down along the village street, like a silver-turquoise mountain range. Wei Wuxian ordered the Wens to pack their things and attach them to the dragon’s crest.
“What was that?” Wen Qing exhaled, looking around. “Wei Wuxian, since when are you a Lan disciple?”
“Since when am I the Chief Cultivator?” he chuckled nervously. “Ask Jiang Cheng.”
The Jiang Cheng in question glared at him with a searing gaze.
“You idiot, you made a mess of things, and now I…” he fell silent, as if he was choking on what he was going to say. “I didn’t even get a word in edgewise with my sister.”
“I was actually surprised that the peacock brought her,” Wei Wuxian shrugged.
“Ha! Brought her! He told her to sit in her chambers while he ‘figured it out.’ But A-jie didn’t quite understand why on this etiquette-abiding earth she should obey. She came with me when I found out.”
“Why did you come here?” Wei Wuxian wondered.
Jiang Cheng bared his teeth, but caught Lan Zhan's gaze and pursed his lips.
“You’re not the only one who can be a hero.”
“Oh, so you came to save me?” Wei Wuxian smiled. “Or Wen Qing?”
“What do I care about your Wen Qing?!” Jiang Cheng bristled but immediately drooped. “Well, that is... I repaid my life debt. Right?” He fixed his gaze on the healer.
“Your life debt is not to me, but to my brother,” Wen Qing said coldly. “So far, you’ve repaid me the debt for the golden core. Now, maybe someone can explain to me what kind of new cultivation methods Wei Wuxian has invented?”
“On the way,” Wei Wuxian promised. “Actually, you’ll experience them yourself, since we’ll be flying on the dragon!”
She rolled her eyes and resolutely took the sullen A-Yuan from him.
“You can have him when you tell me!” she said and left to load.
“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen stood next to him, apparently having finished discussing the terms with Meng Yao (Wei Wuxian didn’t know whether he would keep the Jin surname and the condescending name his father gave him). “Did you stay here for some purpose?”
The line of Jiang Cheng's lips curved in a wave of tension, and Wei Wuxian felt small bolts of lightning in the air.
“You," Jiang Cheng growled, turning to him, "don't pull any more stunts like that. And as soon as you grow a new core, you show up. I want to personally make sure that you're not fooling me again.”
Wei Wuxian was just about to laugh it off out of habit and agree to a pitiful handout of care wrapped in a ball of thorny vines, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed the Lan disciples helping the Wens load their sparse belongings onto the dragon. The Wens, about whom the Lans wouldn’t care at all if Wei Wuxian hadn’t suddenly demanded they fly with him to the ends of the world, quarrel with other sects there and almost rebel against the Chief Cultivator, simply because Wei Wuxian wanted it that way. He hadn’t even had time to explain to them what it was all about.
“I’m sorry, but phrased like this, your invitation isn’t very interesting to me,” he finally said.
“The phrasing isn’t right for you?!” Jiang Cheng immediately spluttered. “Not even an hour has passed and you’re already dazzled by your own importance?!”
“It’s not that I’m the Chief Cultivator and a high-ranking official of the Lan Sect,” Wei Wuxian clarified, though not failing to show off. “It’s simply that I now know what family is. In a family, people open up to each other and aren’t afraid to be whipped for weakness. If you still want to be my family, you will have to acknowledge your weaknesses and stop defending yourself from me. I was afraid to tell you about the core, afraid to admit my weakness, because I didn’t know what I would get in response. But I was also afraid that you wouldn’t be able to accept yours, that you’d stick your head up your ass, screw up the sect and take it all out on me. I’m sorry that I threw everything in your face, and in public at that, but even so I was able to tell you about it only because I no longer depend on you. Family is security. Your invitation sounds more like a threat. All my life I’ve imagined affection behind your threats, but now I know that affection can exist without threats. It’s unpleasant for me to listen to them, and I don’t owe you anything to make me do it against my will.”
As he spoke, Jiang Cheng became more and more angry, but then he deflated and began to chew his lip.
“Are you really okay with the Lans?”
Wei Wuxian sighed quietly, realising that there would be no heart-to-heart conversation.
“I’m having an amazing time with the Lans. I am loved and appreciated. I have the best husband in the world and the respect of my subordinates.”
“You... with Lan Wangji... really…?” Jiang Cheng awkwardly rubbed his index fingers together.
Wei Wuxian sighed openly.
“Jiang Cheng. If we’re strangers, then I don’t have to report to you about my family life. And if we’re not strangers, I would like to see at least some proof of that first.”
“What the hell are you talking about, what strangers?!” Jiang Cheng reared up. “We’ve lived our whole lives together, we’ve been through the war, and now we’re strangers?! You'd think I had someone closer!”
Wei Wuxian remained silent, drawing lines on the ground with the toe of his boot.
“I didn’t intend to kick you out, actually,” Jiang Cheng continued. “You were just talking some kind of nonsense!”
Wei Wuxian glanced at him from under his brows, and Jiang Cheng hastened to add:
“Well, I also spoke some kind of nonsense. And that Lan Wangji of yours, he's so quick to attack me. Pissed me off.”
Wei Wuxian changed his drawing foot.
“I didn’t mean to...” Jiang Cheng sounded tortured. “Well, it’s my fault, I lost it, damn it, I’m working hard as hell and all by myself. Then the Jin showed up at the wrong moment, I don’t know how... In short, I was confused. Sorry.”
Wei Wuxian nodded.
“I forgive you. You’ve earned a renewal of your financial assistance. I'll think about the visit for now. In the near future I won’t have time to travel in any case.”
Jiang Cheng grimaced.
“I supported your candidacy as a joke. To tease. You aren’t serious about running anything, are you?”
“I’ve already jailed half of the elders in Gusu Lan and completely reassembled the entire duty roster.”
Jiang Cheng flinched.
“Eh, what the fuck?! And they let you?! But you're just...”
“I’m just the son of a servant and a tramp, who was picked up from the street to entertain you.”
Jiang Cheng jerked away as if he had been slapped.
“I don't think that. I know you're impressive. But you yourself never believed it, and I... got used to it.”
“Start getting unused,” Wei Wuxian advised.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan appeared at his shoulder, and Wei Wuxian was pleased to note that he didn’t flinch. “Everyone is ready to fly.”
Wei Wuxian waved his hand at Jiang Cheng and walked towards the dragon. His soul felt light. He could turn this page. And if the characters from it continued to appear in his life, that would be a completely different story.
The saddled dragon soared into the clouds to the squeals of the Wen women and children, tied to its scaly body with spiritual nets. Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan sat on the head between the horns, leaving Lan Xichen to fill in Wen Qing, and lazily planned how to settle the Wens in the Cloud Recesses and how to ensure that Meng Yao didn’t trick anyone. The winter day was clear, and the crowns of the trees rushing below were silver with frost, like the scales of the dragon carrying Wei Wuxian home.